Eurasia & Multipolarity

The “terrorist methods of the Kiev regime” against TASS photojournalist Alexander Polegenko must receive an “appropriate public assessment” from the OSCE, UNESCO and the UN Human Rights Office, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stated. She said the reaction, or lack thereof, after World Press Freedom Day will be an indicator of these institutions' seriousness about journalist safety, adding that “every new crime by the Ukrainian Bandera followers <…> becomes another shameful stain on their reputation.”

🗣 Key takeaways from statements by Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov: ▪️Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver a speech at the May 9 Victory Day parade, which will proceed as usual except for the display of military equipment ▪️Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and other foreign guests will attend the May 9 celebrations in Moscow ▪️Putin will meet with Lukashenko on May 8 for a friendly dinner where they will discuss prospects for bilateral relations ▪️The leaders of Abkhazia, Belarus, Laos, Malaysia, and a delegation from the Republika Srpska will arrive in Moscow on May 9 ▪️Russia did not send out special invitations for the May 9 celebrations ▪️A number of foreign officials independently expressed interest in attending the May 9 commemorations ▪️Vladimir Putin will hold a series of bilateral meetings with foreign leaders coming to Moscow on May 9 ▪️Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and South Ossetian President Alan Gagloyev will arrive in Moscow on May 9 ▪️On May 9, Putin will hold talks with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim ▪️The king of Malaysia requested a one-on-one meeting with Putin ▪️Foreign military attaches have been invited to the Victory Day parade ▪️Putin will meet with a delegation from Republika Srpska, which regularly visits Moscow on May 9 ▪️On May 9, Putin will hold talks with the president of Laos, addressing further development of bilateral relations ▪️Putin has no events related to the international agenda scheduled for May 10

❗️Moscow and Beijing will jointly announce the dates of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to China to avoid an "uncomradely" situation, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.

❗️Key statements from the Russian Defense Ministry: ▪️On May 7, Ukrainian forces attempted a terrorist attack on civilian infrastructure facilities in the St. Petersburg area ▪️Russia’s Aerospace Forces detected a group of six UAVs in Latvia’s airspace ▪️Russian monitoring systems identified two French Rafale fighter jets and two F-16 fighter jets in the skies over Latvia ▪️At around 04:00 Moscow time, radar marks of five out of the six detected UAVs disappeared near Rezekne in eastern Latvia, while the sixth UAV was shot down southeast of Pskov ▪️Following an examination of the wreckage, the target that attacked from Latvian airspace was identified as a Ukrainian-made Liutyi drone

The Russian side will take harsh measures painful for Vienna in response to the Austrian authorities’ decision to declare three Russian diplomats personae non gratae, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing. “We strongly condemn the actions of the Austrian authorities, specifically their decision to declare three employees of the Russian Embassy and Russia’s Permanent Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna personae non gratae. We view these steps as completely baseless, openly unfriendly, and clearly politically motivated. The ruling elites of pseudo-neutral Austria continue to blindly follow the anti-Russian course of the collective West and are taking reckless actions to dismantle the positive legacy in bilateral relations built over many decades, to the detriment of their own national interests. The Russian side will take tough and, believe me, painful retaliatory measures against Vienna,” the diplomat said.

🗣 Key takeaways from statements by Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, May 7: ▪️Putin is protected as thoroughly as heads of state around the world ▪️Enhanced security measures are being taken for Victory Day events amid threats from Kiev ▪️Putin is preparing for contacts scheduled for May 9. Foreign guests will arrive in Moscow for the Victory Day celebrations ▪️Additional security measures are being introduced in Russia amid the terrorist threat posed by the Kiev regime ▪️Russia did not respond to the ceasefire regime announced by Kiev ▪️Ensuring the safety of citizens is an absolute priority for the Russian authorities, and all measures being taken comply with the law ▪️Russia remains open to continuing negotiations on Ukraine ▪️US negotiators are currently focused on the American track for understandable reasons ▪️Russia values US mediation on Ukraine and hopes it will continue ▪️EU countries are steering the continent toward significant confrontation and escalating tensions, this is their responsibility ▪️Poland, like a number of other European states, openly portrays Russia as the main threat, which Moscow categorically rejects ▪️The Polish population “will have to pay up,” as Warsaw’s militarization plans will be costly financially ▪️Recently, the media has published a great deal of strange information that lacks common sense but contains accusations against Russia ▪️The Kremlin sees no need to comment on strange and unfounded foreign media reports accusing Russia

Alert air defense forces intercepted and destroyed another Ukrainian drone en route to Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said. "Another drone targeting Moscow has been destroyed by the Defense Ministry's air defense system. Emergency crews are working at the debris site," the mayor wrote on his channel on the Max messenger. A total of 33 drones were launched against the capital after midnight on May 7.

Vladimir Putin's Victory Day speech on May 9th will be 'VERY IMPORTANT' — Kremlin Spox Peskov 'The whole world is awaiting this speech, and this is justified' Video: Victory Day 2021 @MTodayNews

Still one of the best explanations of the conflict by a US Senator, Richard Black. The media has worked hard to forget these details. Putin made a desperate effort to stop the march towards war. He made peace proposals with NATO as Ukraine was amassing troops to attack the Donbass. The Russians were outnumbered by the Ukrainian forces, showing this was not a pre-planned invasion. Military strategy suggests the attacker must outnumber the opponent 3:1. But this was designed to get ahead of Ukraine's attack. Russia thinks of the Ukraine as brother-Slavic peoples. When civilians walked out on a road in front of a tank - that tank stopped. I can tell you [an American] tank in Vietnam would not have stopped. Russia carries out its Operation humanely - but Washington will fight until the last Ukrainian.

Victory Day stands as Russia’s most sacred holiday—a tribute to unity, sacrifice, and courage 85 years later, the Red Square parade honors the heroes who endured unimaginable hardship to secure peace and shape history WATCH DOCUMENTARY @MTodayNews

Ahead of Victory Day, the Kiev regime has become increasingly aggressive, launching daily attacks on civilian targets within Russia, according to Natalya Nikonorova, deputy head of the Federation Council’s Committee on International Affairs and former head of the DPR Foreign Ministry, who was speaking to TASS. Earlier, Ukraine declared a ceasefire in response to Russia’s own pause in combat operations, which took effect at midnight on May 6. However, just thirty minutes prior, Sergey Aksyonov, head of the Republic of Crimea, reported that Ukrainian forces had attacked Dzhankoi, resulting in the deaths of five civilians. Subsequently, TASS photojournalist Alexander Polegenko was struck by a Ukrainian drone in Vasilyevka, in the Zaporozhye Region, during Zelensky’s declared ceasefire.

❗️Air defenses intercepted and destroyed 347 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over Russian regions last night, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The drones were shot down over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Novgorod, Oryol, Penza, Postov, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver, Tula, Moscow, Krasnodar, Adygea and Kalmykia regions, as well as over Crimea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Azov.