U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said that 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.

That 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”, - said Price at a State Department briefing.