Europe
Ukraine battles to hold eastern bastions as Russia prepares Victory Day parade
5 years agoMSTA-S self-propelled howitzers parade through Dvortsovaya Square during the general rehearsal of the Victory Day military parade in central Saint Petersburg on May 7, 2022. - Russia will celebrate the 77th anniversary of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany on May 9. (Photo by Olga MALTSEVA / AFP)
Ukrainian forces were braced to defend their final bastion in the devastated port city of Mariupol on Sunday, desperate to deny Russia a symbolic win on the eve of Moscow's Victory Day celebrations.