Firefighters battled blazes in Odesa until early hours on Tuesday after Russian missiles pounded the Ukrainian port on the day President Vladimir Putin led celebrations in Moscow marking Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
In a defiant Victory Day speech on Monday, Putin exhorted Russians to battle for their homeland, but was silent about plans for any escalation.
In Ukraine, there was no let up in fighting, with Russian strikes on targets in the east and south and a renewed push by Kremlin’s forces to defeat the last Ukrainian troops holding out in a steelworks in ruined Mariupol. Read more: IN PHOTOS — Russia marks Victory Day with military parade, Putin speech At least 100 civilians remained trapped in the plant, which remained under heavy Russian fire, an aide to Mariupol mayor said on Tuesday.
Air raid sirens could be heard across several regions of Ukraine early on Tuesday including Luhansk, Kharkiv and Dnipro. Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk, said the region was attacked 22 times in the past 24 hours. “During the day on May 9th, the Russians fired en masse on all possible routes out of the region.” In Moscow, during Monday’s annual parade – with the usual ballistic missiles and tanks rumbling across the cobblestones – Putin told Russians they were again fighting “Nazis.” “You are fighting for the Motherland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of World War Two.