No force behind Putin’s Victory Day bombast
The day on which many feared that Russia would escalate its assault on Ukraine turned out to be very different.
Victory Day – when Russians and Ukrainians alike remember the millions of Soviet soldiers who lost their lives in World War II – was observed in a sombre and subdued way across much of Ukraine, where it was the quietest day of the war so far.
The day saw the least shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-most populous city, since the conflict began 75 days ago, according to the regional governor, Oleh Synyehubov.
Ukrainian troops have been pushing back Russian battalions in Kharkiv over the past two weeks, as Moscow redirects its invasion to focus on areas farther east. Russia’s retreat from areas around the capital Kyiv more than a month ago, and Kharkiv more recently, has given many Ukrainians reason for hope, even as Russia consolidates its control over large parts of the eastern and southern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson.
‘‘This day is even more symbolic for us because we’re expecting our own victory – and not just the victory of our ancestors,’’ Synyehubov said.
Nearer to the front lines in the Donetsk region, relative calm also prevailed. In the town of Lyman, where fighting has raged in recent weeks, civilians used the relative quiet to make frantic dashes to the armoured evacuation buses organised by the regional government. As the day wore on, fighting flared again.
In a nearby town, Nikolai Manailo, a 99-year-old World War II veteran, opened a bottle of champagne for Victory Day. A native of Kharkiv, he once fought alongside Russians.
‘‘Who could’ve believed this could happen?’’ Manailo said quietly. He said he wished the two countries could just sit down at a table and sort out their differences over a drink.
There were Victory Day events in Russian-occupied areas, too, but they were muted. Rumours had circulated for days that the Kremlin would organise major events such as a triumphal parade in Mariupol, where Russian troops have taken near-total control, or announce the annexation of more of Ukraine.
Russian news outlets posted footage of mostly civilians marching with flags of the defunct Soviet Union and laying flowers at local World War II memorials. Crowds ranged from a few dozen to a few hundred.
Commemorations in Ukraine were limited by martial law, which prohibits large gatherings.
At a bullet-scarred Ukrainian Orthodox church whose yard served temporarily as a mass grave, the Rev Andriy Halavin said Victory Day had passed like any other. ‘‘We do not have this cult of victory as they do in Russia,’’ Halavin said. ‘‘When we remember the past, we pray for all those people who died, whether in this war or in the Second World War.’’
■ Ill-equipped Russian soldiers have resorted to the ‘‘tragic’’ use of pine logs as makeshift protection on logistical trucks, as well as decades-old paper maps, and GPS receivers to fly planes, Britain’s defence secretary says.
Ben Wallace said Russian generals had sent soldiers to war with inadequate equipment, which was ‘‘criminal’’.
In a speech yesterday at the National Army Museum, Wallace said GPS receivers had been found ‘‘taped to the dashboards of downed Russian SU-34s, so the pilots knew where they were, due to the poor quality of their own systems’’. Vehicles were ‘‘frequently found with 1980s paper maps of Ukraine in them’’, he added.
Wallace said cages had been crudely welded to the tops of Russian tank turrets as an extra defence against rocket attacks from above, but they added weight, made the vehicles easier to spot, and gave crews a false sense of security.
Many vehicles were not maintained properly, and their cheap tyres were frequently ‘‘blown out’’, he said.
– Washington Post, The Times