is back On the ninth of May Once again to the fore, today, Wednesday, after the Kremlin denied his country’s intention to declare total war and general mobilization on this date, Kyiv confirmed that the Russian forces are preparing for a military parade in the long-besieged port of Mariupol on this day, which coincides with the Russians celebrating their victory over Nazi Germany.
The Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service revealed that the Deputy Director of the Russian Presidential Administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, arrived at Mariupol city coastal southeast, to prepare for this show.
He also explained that “the main task of Putin’s official is to prepare for the May 9 ceremony,” noting that “the main roads in Mariupol were urgently cleaned, and rubble and corpses were removed, in addition to unexploded ordnance.”
From Mariupol (Maripol Telegram page)
‘Joy to see the Russians’
He added that the Russians will see reports of the “joy” of the residents of Mariupol at the sight of the Russians arriving in their city.
In addition, he noted, “a large-scale propaganda campaign is taking place among the city’s population, whose number the Ukrainian authorities now estimate at 100 to 120 thousand, compared to about half a million before the Russian operation.”
“pure nonsense”
On the other hand, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed, earlier today, in response to a question about preparations for the ninth day, that “this year, military parades will be held in 28 Russian cities, where about 65 thousand people and about 2,400 types of weapons and military equipment will participate, And more than 460 aircraft this year,” without explicitly referring to Mariupol, according to AFP.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described all rumors and allegations about a general mobilization on this date as “pure nonsense.”
It is noteworthy that Mariupol, overlooking the Sea of Azov, southeast of Ukraine, which is almost completely under Russian military control, except for the Azovstal Industrial Complex, where the last Ukrainian fighters and civilians are holed up, has represented, since the start of the Russian operation, a strategic goal for the Russians, especially since control will open a land corridor. To move Russian forces between eastern Ukraine and Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
As for May 9, it is considered an important day in Russia, as it is the national holiday of the victory over Nazism in World War II, which killed an estimated 27 million Soviet citizens between 1941 and 1945.