Putin could formally declare war on Ukraine by May 9.
Russian President Vladimir Putin could formally declare war on Ukraine by May 9, a move that would enable the full mobilization of Russia’s reserve forces as invasion efforts continue to falter, US and Western officials say.
According to the media, May 9, known as “Victory Day” inside Russia, commemorates the defeat of the Nazis in 1945. And Western officials have long believed that Putin would use the symbolic significance and propaganda value of that day to proclaim either a military achievement in Ukraine or a major escalation – or both.
Thus, officials have begun to talk about a scenario, which is that Putin officially declares war on Ukraine on May 9.
To date, Putin has insisted on referring to the brutal conflict as a “special military operation”, effectively banning words such as occupation and war.
“I think he will try to move on from his ‘special operation,'” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said last week.
“He will try to create the ground to be able to say ‘look, this is now a war against the Nazis and what I need is more people.”
Throughout the conflict, Putin has consistently justified his occupation of Ukraine, a country with a Jewish president, as an alleged “denazification” campaign, a description rejected by historians and political observers.
An official declaration of war on May 9 could potentially strengthen public support for the occupation.
Also under Russian law would allow Putin to mobilize reserve forces and recruits, whom officials say Russia desperately needs due to a growing lack of manpower. Western and Ukrainian officials have estimated that at least 10,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the war since Russia launched its aggression just over two months ago.