Tsar takes a step back: Why Russia withdrew from the May 9 parade

2022-05-05 19:04:09Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Tsar takes a step back: Why Russia withdrew from the May 9 parade
Why Russia withdrew from the May 9 parade

Russian authorities have canceled a Victory Day parade and march in the two self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. But Ukraine accuses: "They want to make the citizens of Mariupol march like prisoners."

Russian authorities have decided to cancel the May 9 parade in the self-proclaimed popular republics of Donetsk and Lugansk: no Victory Day parade or march will be held here, on which Russians celebrate victory over the Nazis during World War II. This is the first cancellation since 2014, when pro-Russian separatists took control of these Ukrainian territories.

The decision of the Russians

The announcement came directly from Sergei Kiriyenko, Russia's deputy head of the presidential administration, who said the Victory Parade and the Immortal Regiment March 9 in Donetsk and Lugansk "are impossible to hold." However, Kiriyenko, as reported by the Russian news agency "Ria Novosti", has made a significant clarification: "That moment will arrive soon and the Victory Parade will parade through the streets of the city of Donbas."

As of late April, Denis Pushilin, the leader of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk, had claimed that the parade would not take place because of the risk of bombing. The motive for the decision was to postpone the event until the region is "completely liberated from the Ukrainian occupation."

Parade in Mariupol

Ukraine has filed an indictment against Russia, which is trying to organize a military parade in the city of Mariupol on May 9. Lyudmila Denisova, the human rights commissioner in the Ukrainian parliament, has shed light on Moscow's plans: the Russians intend to march "our citizens" at the May 9 parade in Mariupol as "prisoners."

In the past hours there has been talk of an official of the Russian presidential administration who has come to the strategic port city to oversee the holiday plans.  

Vadym Boichenko, the mayor of Mariupol, has underlined on Ukrainian television that "affairs" in the city are underway as if the Russians are preparing for something important.

Ukrainian Defense Ministry intelligence sources add that clean-up operations are underway on the city's main streets, removing debris, detonating unexploded ordnance and transferring the bodies of victims left on the streets. At the same time, the Ukrainians denounce a "large-scale" propaganda campaign, during which the Russians can tell "stories of 'joy' of the local people in meeting the invaders" ./ Il Giornale / Voxnews.al


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