Recent reports claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin may officially declare war with Ukraine as early as next Monday. Russia is currently referring to the invasion as a special military operation. Officially declaring war would, under Russian law, allow for the full mobilization of Russia’s reserve forces and the drafting of conscripts.
“I think he will try to move from his ‘special operation,'” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told LBC Radio last week. “He’s been rolling the pitch, laying the ground for being able to say, ‘look, this is now a war against Nazis, and what I need is more people. I need more Russian cannon fodder.'”
Wallace added that he “would not be surprised, and I don’t have any information about this, that he is probably going to declare on this May Day that ‘we are now at war with the world’s Nazis and we need to mass mobilize the Russian people.'”
Next Monday, May 9, is Victory Day, recognized in Russia as the day commemorating the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Russian President Vladimir Putin has justified his invasion of Ukraine with claims that his goal is to eradicate the Nazi influences. Such a claim would serve as a powerful motivation for Russians, as in the war against the Nazis in World War II, the losses of the Soviet Union from all related causes were about 27,000,000, both civilian and military. The German army occupied Ukraine in September 1941; however, Nationalists in western Ukraine were among the most enthusiastic Nazi collaborators.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday there is “good reason to believe that the Russians will do everything they can to use” May 9 for propaganda purposes.
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