As claimed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia failed to seize the eastern city of Bakhmut by the deadline of May 9 — the day on which Russia celebrates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
“They failed to succeed in capturing Bakhmut. At a joint press conference with European President Ursula von der Leyen, Zelensky stated that this was the final significant military operation they planned to wrap up by May 9th.
“Unfortunately, the city is no longer in existence. Everything is completely gone,” he continued.
Zelensky calls for additional ammunition: The Ukrainian president also stated that more quickly arriving ammunition from the European Union, which it has promised to send to Ukraine, is already required on the battlefield.
“Ukraine daily demonstrates efficiency of our defense against Russian aggression. Every intercepted terrorists’ missile, every success of our warriors in defeating Russian attacks, these are the proofs that we can win over this aggressor,” Zelensky said.
“The main thing is the proportionality of our abilities to the abilities that the aggressor has. And in this context, I have thanked Ursula for the readiness of the European Union to provide Ukraine this badly needed ammunition, one billion artillery shells, and we have also discussed the key issues, the speed of the procurement and delivery of this ammunition, because they are needed on the battlefield already now,” he said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin marked May 9 with the annual Victory Day parade and launched yet another scathing attack on the West, accusing it of holding Ukraine hostage to its anti-Russian plans. He also claimed that “real war” has been unleashed against Russia.