Putin may officially declare war on Ukraine as early as May 9, CNN reports, citing American and Western officials..

May 9, known as " Western pundits have long assumed that Putin will use the symbolic meaning and propaganda value of the day to either announce a military achievement in Ukraine, launch a major escalation in hostilities, or both..

The most likely scenario is that on May 9, Putin officially declares war on Ukraine.. To date, Russian officials insist that the conflict was only a "

“I think he will try to abandon his ‘special operation against the Nazis’,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told LBC Radio last week. “We need more people, we need more Russian cannon fodder.”.

Wallace added that he wouldn't be surprised if Putin announced that day that "

A formal declaration of war on May 9 could galvanize Russian citizens and sway public opinion more in favor of escalation. In addition, according to Russian law, this will allow Putin to mobilize the conscripts that Russia desperately needs..

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Western and Ukrainian experts have estimated that at least 10,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the war since Russia invaded Ukraine just over two months ago..

Other options for May 9 include annexing the breakaway territories of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, advancing on Odessa in the south, or declaring full control of the southern port city of Mariupol..

The U.S. has “extremely credible” intelligence that Russia will attempt to annex Luhansk and Donetsk “sometime in mid-May,” U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter said on Monday.. There are also indications that Russia may be planning to declare and annex a "

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday there were "