
Opinion: Why May 9 matters to Putin
CNN
On May 9 -- known as Victory Day in Russia -- President Vladimir Putin will need to make a bombastic and very public display to suggest he is winning the war in Ukraine, writes military expert James Nixey.
But more than two months in, the war is going far from how Russia originally envisaged. May 9, then, might present Putin the occasion to declare a symbolic "victory" over Ukraine -- a great demonstration of patriotic ecstasy aimed at shoring up his manipulated, sanction-weary audience.

Top Trump Cabinet secretaries and national security officials are holding meetings this week to discuss the administration’s next steps on Ukraine – including the prospect of suspending military aid – following the spectacular collapse of Friday’s Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky.