IFear of increased Russian airstrikes in Ukraine in connection with the upcoming Moscow Victory Day is growing. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for caution and discipline. “I ask all of our citizens, especially these days, not to ignore the air alert,” said the head of state on Friday in his evening video address. “Please, this is your life, the life of your children.” In cities close to the front, such as Odessa, a curfew is to apply for two days.
Russia celebrates the Soviet victory over Hitler’s Germany in World War II on Monday, May 9th. President Vladimir Putin will speak at the traditional large military parade in Moscow. He is expected to set the course for the two-and-a-half-month-old war of aggression against Ukraine.
Iconic invitation
It was precisely for this symbolic day that Selenskyj invited Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to Kyiv. Scholz could take a “very strong political step” and come to the Ukrainian capital on May 9, the president said at an event hosted by the London think tank Chatham House. In Mariupol, Russian troops wanted to hold fire for the last time on Saturday to allow civilians to withdraw from the embattled Azovstal steelworks.
At the weekend, Ukrainians should strictly follow the orders of the authorities and adhere to local curfews, Zelenskyj warned. Because of the danger of mines, entering forests occupied by the Russian military is forbidden. The Interior Ministry announced that it would patrol with 5,000 men to prevent possible provocations.
In the southern Ukrainian region of Odessa, people have to stay at home from 10 p.m. Sunday evening to 5 a.m. Tuesday morning. There will be no curfew in the capital Kyiv, said Mayor Vitali Klitschko. But he also advised people to stay at home. “In the coming days there is a high probability of rocket fire in all regions of Ukraine,” he said.
Scholz already has plans for Monday
A spokesman for the federal government referred to the dates that were already known when Selenskyj invited Scholz for May 9th. This includes the inaugural visit by French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday. “The day before, the Federal Chancellor, his G-7 colleagues and the Ukrainian President will discuss the situation in Ukraine in a video link on the historic anniversary of the end of the World War,” said the spokesman.
Scholz is planning a television speech on the war in Ukraine, which will be broadcast on television on Sunday evening. Also on Sunday, the President of the Bundestag, Bärbel Bas, is traveling to Kyiv at the invitation of the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, and could possibly also meet President Zelenskyj there.
For weeks there had been disagreements between Kyiv and Berlin because a visit from Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was not desired. Scholz had described the unloading as an obstacle to his own trip. Steinmeier and Selenskyj cleared up the irritations in a telephone call on Thursday. Scholz then announced that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock would travel to Kyiv.
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