PESKOV: Rumors that Putin will formally declare war on Ukraine are 'nonsense'

Amid rumors of a formal escalation in hostilities, the Kremlin claimed on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin did not plan to declare war against Ukraine or call for a national mobilization on May 9, the date Russia celebrates the Soviet Union’s victory in the Second World War.  

Addressing speculation that Putin will formally declare war against Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “there is no change of that. It’s nonsense.”

Peskov also noted that people should disregard rumors that officials could soon call for a national mobilization, Reuters reported.

Although Russian officials have qualified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation,” Western experts have suggested that Putin could be preparing to announce a formal escalation of the conflict or even an outright declaration of victory during next Monday’s festivities.

According to U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Prices, there is “good reason to believe that the Russians will do everything they can to use" May 9 for propaganda purposes.

"We've seen the Russians really double down on their propaganda efforts, probably, almost certainly, as a means to distract from their tactical and strategic failures on the battlefield in Ukraine," Price told reporters at a briefing on Monday.

“It would be a great irony if Moscow used the occasion of 'Victory Day' to declare war, which in itself would allow them to surge conscripts in a way they're not able to do now, in a way that would be tantamount to revealing to the world that their war effort is failing, that they are floundering in their military campaign and military objectives," he added.

"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.'"

Victory Day in Russia is a national holiday through which Russians remember the sacrifice made by Soviet soldiers during the Nazi invasion of the USSR – an episode during the so-called “Great Patriotic War” which left an estimated 27 million Soviet citizens dead.

In the past, Putin has used Victory Day speeches and parades to address the West and showcase the supposed might of Russia’s armed forces.

"I'm quite confident that we'll be hearing more from Moscow in the lead up to May 9," Price said. "I'm quite confident that you will be hearing more from the United States, from our partners, including our NATO partners, in the lead up to May 9 as well."