WASHINGTON DC (TV 2): The so-called Victory Day is the Russians’ most important national holiday.
Every year on May 9, people stand in line for hours to get a good seat, so they can watch the military parade rumble over Red Square.
At the center of the events are actually the veterans who fought against the Nazis in World War II.
But most of them have fallen away or are too frail to take the train themselves, and instead it is now President Vladimir Putin who plays the main role in the militaristic feud.
– CENTER: Vladimir Putin has made himself the center of Russia’s Victory Day. Here he is with a bunch of veterans from World War II during last year’s celebration. Photo: NTB Scanpix.
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Important speech
In recent years, Putin has painstakingly built up the Soviet victory over Germany almost 80 years ago as the very cornerstone of Russia’s national identity.
Then it does not fit that he is at the same time about to lose another war.
On the morning of May 9, after Russian planes “bombed” possible rain clouds over Moscow with chemicals, and tanks and missiles have finished showing off, Putin will speak to the nation from the stands in Red Square.
Then he will have to point to some form of success in Ukraine.
The war, which in Russia is forbidden to call war, has not gone as planned for the Russian president.
– GREAT AGENT: May 9 has in practice become Russia’s national day, and the highlight is the military parade, where tens of thousands of soldiers show up. Photo: NTB Scanpix.
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The dream of subduing Ukraine in a few days has been shattered by the Russian army’s own incompetence, corruption and unmotivated soldiers.
Even the revised goal of taking over the eastern Donbas has not yet been reached.
Desperation increases
Now there are only a few days until the big party, which intelligence sources in the West believe should be used to announce victory in Ukraine.
At the same time, Western weapons are flowing across the border into Ukraine in increasing numbers, sanctions are suffocating the Russian economy and more and more countries are applying to NATO.
In response, Putin and his spokesmen over the past week have increasingly begun to true with the use of nuclear weapons.
And the powerful Russian defense chief Valery Gerasimov will personally have gone into the field to take command of the invading army.
– MANNEFALL: At least eight Russian generals have so far lost their lives in the fighting in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian sources. Now the chief of defense himself, Valery Gerasimov (right) must have traveled in the field to take command of the troops. Photo: NTB Scanpix.
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The desperation in the Kremlin must be enormous.
Can not lie away from loss
That is why the coming week may be the most dangerous in the war so far.
Even as a dictator in a country with near total media censorship, it is doubtful whether Putin in his speech can lie out of military failure.
For it is already murmuring on Russian social media, from mothers and fathers whose sons have disappeared, probably killed.
The Kremlin’s powerful man has never been able to bear to lose face. At least not on May 9th.
His great dream of recreating the Soviet empire is at stake, his legacy and his future.
Considering drastic countermeasures
By invading Ukraine in search of non-existent Nazis and blowing off Western warnings about the consequences, Putin showed that he may no longer think completely rationally.
– DESPERATE: Russian President Vladimir Putin is apparently becoming increasingly desperate for success in Ukraine. For now it is urgent. Photo: NTB Scanpix.
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Therefore, his retaliation in this precarious week could also be drastic and irrational.
It is very likely that among the measures he is currently considering is the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
Or carry out an armed attack on one of the neighboring countries that supplies the defenders with weapons.
Or order atrocities against civilian Ukrainians on a scale we are incapable of imagining.
Just to shock and bring the enemy out of balance. And to have something to brag about on May 9th.
Next week could be crucial, not only for Ukraine’s future, but also for Russia’s.
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