Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, promised that the Russian troops will be defeated, just as Nazism was in 1945in a speech this Monday commemorating the end of World War II and on the eve of a major military parade in Moscow.

“All the ancient evils that modern Russia brings will be defeated in the same way Nazism was defeated,” Zelensky declared in his speech broadcast on social networks. “Just as we destroyed evil together then, we are now destroying a similar evil together,” he continued.

Western countries commemorate the German surrender on May 8, while in Russia it is celebrated on May 9. To commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory over the Nazis in 1945, an imposing military parade will take place on Tuesday under heavy security in the Red Square of the Russian capital.

“We are going to win,” promised Zelensky, before announcing the presentation of a bill to mark the end of World War II on May 8, not May 9, a move to further distance the country from Moscow.

Despite Zelensky’s encouraging speech, recorded in front of a World War II memorial in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital was awakened by new Russian shelling on Monday. At least five people were injured in the attacks. More than 35 drones were shot down, according to the armed forces.

“Our Victory”

AFP journalists on the scene saw a destroyed apartment in the Svyatoshynsky district. “We have been at war for a year now. It’s always scary. But not as much as at the front. But of course it’s scary. It’s terrible for the children,” Vadym, a 47-year-old neighbour, told AFP.

Russia condemns attack on Vladimir Putin with drones targeting the Kremlin

The Kremlin has relied on World War II rhetoric to justify its invasion, launched on February 24, 2022. The offensive, he assured, aims to “denazify” Ukraine. Zelensky nevertheless claimed that Moscow is responsible for “aggression and annexation, occupation and deportation”, as well as “massacres and torture”.

“The answer to all this will be our victory, the victory of Ukraine and the free world,” he proclaimed.

The Ukrainian president also announced that the country would celebrate Europe Day on May 9 to promote peace and unity on the continent. A measure that has been received with gratitude by the bloc of 27 countries.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will make a trip to Kiev that same day to “reaffirm the EU’s unconditional support” for Ukraine, the spokesman for the bloc’s executive arm announced.

On the front side

The shelling continues in other parts of the area. In Odessa, in the south of the country, authorities reported that one person was killed and several others injured after an attack on a warehouse. But the fighting is concentrated in the east of the country, especially in the Donbas basin, which is partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

In the town of Bakhmut, where the Russian paramilitary group Wagner threatened to withdraw due to lack of ammunition, Ukraine claimed that Russian troops had deployed phosphorus bombs.

Bakhmut has suffered the longest and fiercest battle of the war for months. The head of the paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Sunday withdrew his threat to withdraw from the area.

There have been several attacks on Russian territory in recent weeks, which experts say herald a counter-offensive in Kiev. Russia attributes these facts to Kiev, which has never claimed responsibility for them. It also accuses Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Wednesday, in an alleged drone attack for which it also blames the United States.

Several Russian cities near Ukraine canceled Tuesday’s parades for fear of new attacks, though the Kremlin assured it would be held in Moscow.

Ukraine says it has completed preparations for a major counter-offensive, aimed at retaking Moscow-held territories in the east and south of the country, as well as the Crimea peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014.