40,000 people will be thrown into battle / Russia is no longer in the mood for a parade, on Victory Day

UPDATE 00:00 Kyiv: 8 new assault brigades for counteroffensive

8 new shock brigades of Ukrainian soldiers have been formed to take part in the upcoming counter-offensive, Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klimenko said in an interview for Interfax Ukraine. “The brigades are fully formed. There are 8 brigades. We plan to form additional brigades, because there is demand and we have opportunities to do so, said Klimenko. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry has “fully trained” the initial “shock” brigades, comprising up to 40,000 troops, but added that they would need further training before they are ready for combat.

UPDATE 23:00 Prigojin: the head of the territorial forces was killed; Kiev denies

Wagner artillery detachments destroyed an armored vehicle near Bahmut, on board of which Igor Tanţiura, commander of the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine, was allegedly found. The founder of the Wagner Group, Evgheni Prigojin, quoted by Meduza, said this in an audio broadcast on his Telegram channel. “We are currently verifying the information,” Prigojin said in a screenshot showing a destroyed armored car. Ukraine’s denial arrived immediately. Denis Zelinski, the spokesperson of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense, denies that Tanciura was killed: “We officially deny this statement. We do not comment on any enemy propaganda. Everyone is alive and well,” he said, in an interview with the Suspilne television network. Major General Igor Tanţiura heads the Territorial Defense of Ukraine from May 15, 2022.

UPDATE 22:00 A freight train derailed in the Briansk region of Russia

In the Bryansk region, a locomotive and carriages of a freight train derailed. This was reported by the Russian Railways quoted by RIA Novosti. According to the reports of the Russian agency, the accident was caused by the manipulation of the railway transport by unauthorized persons. According to preliminary information, there are no victims, no fires and traffic on the route has been suspended.

UPDATE 21:40 China and India recognize “Russian aggression” at the UN

China and India, so far opposed to condemning Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine, voted for a UN General Assembly resolution on relations between the United Nations and the Council of Europe, which explicitly refers to the “aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine”. The green light to the text of the resolution (approved last week with 122 votes for, 5 against and 18 abstentions) represents a first diplomatic change of direction in Delhi and Beijing’s position towards Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. A step appreciated by EU High Representative Josep Borrell on Twitter.

UPDATE 21:30 Russia: various regions cancel Victory Day parades for fear of attacks

At least six Russian regions canceled parades planned for Victory Day on May 9, which marks the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The last was the governor of Saratov, who spoke of “security reasons”. The heads of the Belgorod, Kursk, Voronezh, Oryol and Pskov regions had previously done the same. Also, there will be no military parades in Russian-occupied Crimea. The fear is that of attacks. In this regard, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “the special services are doing everything necessary to ensure security. A very hard work is being carried out”.