Zelenskiy calls Putin a ‘Nazi’ after he launches massive attack in Ukraine ahead of Victory Day (Politico)

Russia struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure early Wednesday as the Kremlin prepared to celebrate Victory Day on May 9, which traditionally marks the Soviet triumph over Nazi Germany, which has recently become emblematic of the war with Ukraine, Politico reports.

Ukraine’s air force reported shooting down 39 of 55 missiles fired at several of its regions, and 20 of 21 Shahed drones launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces. “On commemoration and victory over Nazism on World War II Day, Putin the Nazi launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine,” the country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement.

“The whole world needs to understand who is who. The world must not give the new Nazism a chance.”

For decades, Moscow’s annual May 9 parade was more a carefully choreographed display of might and power than a memorial to victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, the Kremlin has stepped up attacks on Ukraine ahead of Victory Day to aid its propaganda efforts – trying to give Putin something to brag about in his annual speech in Red Square.

This year, Russian forces were ordered to capture Ukraine’s strategic city of Chesiv Iar in the Donetsk region before May 9. Although they have not yet succeeded in this task, the Russians took advantage of the lack of weapons and depleted troops in Ukraine to quickly gain territory, taking control of several small villages in the Donetsk region.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said Wednesday’s attacks mainly targeted civilian energy infrastructure, targeting power generation and transmission facilities in Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsia regions.

“The enemy wants to deprive us of the ability to generate and transmit sufficient electricity,” Galushchenko said, urging Ukrainians to limit power consumption, especially during peak periods such as mornings and evenings.

“This is the contribution of each of us to the victory. The light will prevail”, added the minister. Ukraine’s largest private power company, DTEK, reported that overnight attacks seriously damaged equipment at three of its power plants. “This is already the fifth massive bombing of the company’s energy facilities in the last month and a half,” the company said in a statement.

Editor: Cristina Sava

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