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Putin ‘celebrates 1945 victory while attacking Kyiv’: Zelensky adviser Podolyak EU

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s May 9 Victory Day speech in Moscow. The Russian leader “celebrates the victory in 1945” while “attacking Kyiv, a peaceful city,” he said, referring to the Ukrainian capital being hit by Russian cruise missiles overnight. Podolyak also said that “a long war only benefits Russia”, and that only a Ukrainian counter-offensive will make the Russians leave the territories they occupy. He insisted that this counter-offensive will include Crimea and the occupied territories of the Donbas region.

? Live: French MPs call on EU to list Russia’s Wagner mercenaries as terrorist group EU

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the European Union would not be intimidated by Moscow’s “show of force” on Tuesday after Russia held its annual Victory Day military parade. Addressing the nation from Moscow’s Red Square, President Vladimir Putin claimed “a real war” had been unleashed on Russia. Earlier, officials in Kyiv said Russian forces had fired a dozen cruise missiles at Ukraine’s capital overnight. Follow FRANCE 24 for live updates. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

IAEA amplifies alert over potential nuclear catastrophe at Zaporizhzhia plant EU

Many people, including those at the IAEA, are increasingly worried about the situation in and around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. The UN nuclear watchdog has already urged the end of all military activity around the site, but to no avail. It is now concerned at continued bombing and the evacuation of civilians, which could mean more intense fighting may follow. Our Science reporter Shirli Sitbon looks in more detail at the main dangers identified in and around the complex.

Russian evacuations near Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility raise suspicions EU

As Russian forces evacuate residents from the town that serves the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, residents of the region have become suspicious. FRANCE 24 correspondent Gulliver Cragg spoke to a woman from the region who said the evacuations have “made everybody nervous”, because “one wonders what the Russians are playing at and why they are evacuating”.

? Live: Russia says it thwarted overnight drone attacks on Sevastopol EU

Authorities in Russian-annexed Crimea said they repelled a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on the city of Sevastopol overnight. Meanwhile, the ongoing evacuation of a town close to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine has prompted the UN nuclear watchdog to warn of an increasingly unpredictable situation. Follow FRANCE 24 for live updates. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).