Flower Politics: In Moscow, No Wreath For 'Hero City' Kyiv Ahead of Victory Day
By Tom Balmforth
MOSCOW -- Every year as Russia gears up to commemorate Victory Day on May 9, flowers are laid outside the Kremlin walls at a memorial to the twelve "Hero Cities" whose inhabitants' outstanding heroism fighting Nazi Germany during World War II earned them honorary Soviet titles.
But bloggers have latched onto an apparent omission this year at the site, part of Moscow's Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier memorial: No basket of flowers has been laid at the monument to Kyiv.
The flower ensembles placed in front of the other Hero Cities looked official, although it was unclear if they had been placed there by Kremlin groundskeepers, city workers, or activists.
Some speculated the omission was a deliberate nod to hostile relations between Moscow and Kyiv, with Russia-backed separatists continuing to fight Kyiv's forces in eastern Ukraine two years after a popular uprising that ousted Ukraine's Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovych.
By contrast, the memorial to the Ukrainian city of Odesa, also a Soviet Hero City, was festooned with flowers.
Read more of Tom's story here.
U.S. Defense Secretary Backs German Plan To Send Troops To Lithuania
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has given his backing to German plans to send troops to Lithuania to reassure NATO’s Eastern European allies wary of a resurgent Russia.
"I do think it is important. But that is a decision Germany will make in the context of NATO," Carter said on May 3 in the southern German city of Stuttgart, shortly after overseeing the changeover of United States European Command's (EUCOM) top general.
The German Defense Ministry has signaled its willingness to deploy a rotating contingent of between 150 and 200 soldiers to Lithuania. They would lead a broader alliance of soldiers with the intention of strengthening combat capability along NATO's eastern flank.
"Russia continues to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and actually seeks to intimidate its Baltic neighbors," Carter said.
"We don't seek a cold -- let alone a hot -- war with Russia. We don't seek to make Russia an enemy. But make no mistake: We will defend our allies," he added.
A decision regarding the German deployment will be made at a NATO summit in Warsaw on June 8-9.