Weakened opponents – Russia and Ukraine are escalating their drone war

The drone war is escalating in the run-up to the Ukrainian spring offensive against the Russian attackers, which is expected in the coming weeks. In this way, both parties, namely Russia and Ukraine, try to weaken the enemy as much as possible by cutting off supply routes and affecting infrastructure. Following the multiple Ukrainian attacks on Russian fuel depots, for example on the annexed peninsula of Crimea in the Black Sea, Russia attacked several Ukrainian cities in the early morning hours of Monday with some 60 drones in total.

Several explosions took place in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa. The capital Kiev was attacked by 35 drones. Although the air defense managed to shoot down almost all of the unmanned missiles, debris still hit buildings, including a residential building, sometimes causing extensive damage. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least five people were injured. According to Ukrainian sources, eight other people were injured by Russian artillery in two villages in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson. The Reuters news agency could not independently verify the images of the fighting.

Preparations underway for Victory Day
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, May 9, Russia celebrates the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the “Great Patriotic War,” as World War II is called there. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took this opportunity to predict a similar defeat: the evils of modern Russia will be destroyed “just as Nazism was destroyed”. As a sign of the break, he now wants to make May 8 a public holiday and declare May 9 Europe Day. The unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht took effect on May 8, 1945 at 11:01 p.m. Moscow time was already May 9

Night attack?
Nevertheless, preparations for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow are in full swing. President Vladimir Putin plans to act as planned on Red Square despite the recent incident involving two drones over the Kremlin. The Kremlin had previously announced that security measures had been tightened for the holiday. As reported, two drones crashed over the Kremlin grounds last night. The Russian side spoke of an attempted attack on Putin and blamed their war opponent. The neighboring country rejected the accusation. In this context, there had been speculation as to whether the military parade would be cancelled.

The traditional march “Immortal Regiment”, which is usually held after the parade, has already been canceled. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov left open whether there will be another air show this time – after last year’s break.