Despite renewed Russian airstrikes across several regions of Ukraine on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky showed emphatic confidence in victory in a speech marking the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s 1945 defeat in World War II.
“And all the old evil that is bringing back modern Russia will be crushed just as Nazism was crushed,” Zelensky said in a speech as his country battles a full-scale invasion by the Kremlin’s forces.
“We don’t know the date of our victory yet, but we know that this will be a celebration for all of Ukraine, for all of Europe, for all of the free world,” Zelensky said.
At least five people were injured overnight in Kiev after Russian attacks, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Ukrainian authorities also reported shelling in the Black Sea city of Odessa by Russian missiles.
Monday marked the 78th anniversary of Germany’s surrender to the Allies, which ended World War II in Europe. The anniversary, sometimes known as Victory in Europe (or VE) Day, is commemorated in some European countries which fought against Nazi Germany.
Russia and many other former Soviet countries traditionally celebrate Victory Day on May 9, since the surrender documents were signed after midnight in Moscow’s time zone. Annual Russian events include a major military parade on Red Square.
Zelensky on Monday said he signed a decree and submitted legislation to officially change the holiday to May 8 in a move to distance the country from Russia and celebrate it together with the “free world” in Europe.
Meanwhile, according to British intelligence assessments, Russia has resorted to recruiting migrant workers from Central Asia to fight in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The British Ministry of Defence reported that Russian military recruiters “have visited mosques and immigration offices” to target central Asian migrant workers in Russia.
“At immigration offices, staff who speak Tajik and Uzbek routinely attempt to recruit migrants,” the ministry said in its daily public update on the war in Ukraine. Recruiters have tried to lure recruits with fast-track Russian citizenship as well as bonuses worth $2,390 and salaries of up to $4,160 a month.
The recruits will likely be sent to the front lines to fight, said British intelligence experts, as part of Russia’s attempt to meet the target of 400, 000 volunteers fighting in Ukraine.
London suggested that Russia’s government was “almost certainly seeking to delay any new overt mandatory mobilisation for as long as possible” given that the last wave of conscription was widely unpopular.
