10 things you need to know today: May 9, 2022

Putin defends Ukraine invasion in Victory Day speech, G-7 nations commit to phasing out Russian oil, and more

Vladimir Putin
(Image credit: Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images)

1. Putin defends Ukraine invasion in Victory Day speech

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday marked Victory Day, the anniversary of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, with a speech in Red Square defending Russia's invasion of Ukraine as necessary to protect "the homeland." He proclaimed eastern Ukraine to be Russian territory. Russia also marked Victory Day in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, though without a parade. Russia has gained control of most of Mariupol after bombing it to rubble. Ukraine's last fighters there, holed up in tunnels under a destroyed steel plant, said in an online news conference they would fight to the death after the last of the more than 300 civilians who had been sheltering there were evacuated.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.