The War Room: Today is Victory Day in Russia, the anniversary of the day Russia defeated Hitler’s Wehrmacht, and Vladimir Putin’s military continues to slaughter Ukrainian civilians the way the Nazis massacred Russians.

  As many as 60 people died yesterday when the school building they were taking refuge in was hit by a Russian bomb. The governor of Luhansk province said the school in the village of Bilohorivka caught fire and  30 people were rescued. “Most likely, all 60 people who remain under the rubble are now dead,” Gov. Serhiy Haidai wrote on the Telegram messaging app. 

  The incident occurred in a Russian speaking area to the very people Putin claims he’s liberating from Nazi rule.

  Putin said in his Victory Day speech to a Red Square full of goose-stepping soldiers that his attack on Ukraine is “for the security of Russia, our homeland.” He said Ukraine had been preparing an attack on disputed lands in the Donbas region and that “In Kyiv they were saying they might get nuclear weapons and NATO started exploring the lands close to us, and that became an obvious threat to us and our borders.”

  The Russian dictator did not make a full declaration of war or claim victory as had been speculated.

  Putin’s military has no shame about killing civilians. An Associated Press investigation has found that the March 16 attack on the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater in Mariupol killed close to 600 people inside and outside the building, close to double the original estimate.

  Fighting continued in Mariupol as the last civilians taking shelter in the city’s giant steel production plant were evacuated over the weekend. The soldiers who remain say they will fight to the last man. 

  Soldiers inside the plant say they have a couple of hundred wounded comrades with them. They won’t say how many healthy fighters are still standing. Capt. Sviatoslav Palamar, the deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, told an online news conference that “We are under constant shelling.” He claimed the Russians tried to storm the plant but were turned back. 

Economic War: The G-7 countries have vowed to phase out the use of Russian oil in response to the Ukraine invasion, cutting an artery of money to the invaders. The G-7 consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.

  The US announced a new lineup of sanctions on Russia, preventing American advertisers from working with Kremlin-controlled media outlets and blocking the country from using US management and accounting consulting services

  The announcement also includes further export controls on Russian industry and roughly 2,600 visa restrictions on Russian and Belarusian officials, as well as sanctions on executives of Gazprombank, the institution through which most of Europe buys Russian gas. 

  Previous sanctions have already pushed the Russian economy into recession.

  And as the West looks for more sanction targets, the European Union is even considering punishing Alina Kabaeva, the retired gymnast who is reputed to be the girlfriend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Diplomatic War: In a diplomatic gesture of support, First lady Jill Biden made an unannounced visit to western Ukraine yesterday, meeting with Ukraine First lady Olena Zelenska. Canada’s Justin Trudeau, also on an unannounced visit, went to see the remains of the Kyiv suburb of Irpin.

  In an act of rock diplomacy, U2’s Bono and his bandmate, The Edge, performed in a Kyiv metro station. Among the hits they sang were “Desire” and “With or Without You.”

  Later in the day they visited St. Andrew’s Church in Bucha, where a large communal grave was found in March after Russian troops had been beaten back from the town.

Mysterious Deaths: The police and health authorities are investigating the unexplained deaths of three Americans Friday at a Sandals resort on the Bahamas’ Great Exuma island. Two men and a woman died, and a woman was airlifted to a hospital in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas.

 Authorities say foul play is not suspected. A couple found dead in their villa had complained of feeling ill the night before. Both showed signs of convulsion. Another man was found dead in his unit. 

The Obit Page: Mickey Gilley, the country music star whose cowboy nightclub with the mechanical bull was the inspiration for the movie “Urban Cowboy,” died on Saturday in a hospital in Branson, Missouri. He was 86.

  Gilley’s bar in Pasadena, Texas was a sprawling 48,000 square feet that could accommodate 5,000 patrons and the hardy few who rode the bull.

  In 20 years, Gilley had 34 singles in the country Top Ten. He had 17 number ones singles from 1974 to 1983, including “I Overlooked an Orchid” and “Don’t the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time.”

The Spin Rack: Deepening their crackdown on the freedom of women, the Taliban announced that all Afghan women must cover their faces when in public. Many already do, but some of the more liberal women in cities have worn only a head scarf. —  New York Gov. Kathy Hochul  has tested positive for coronavirus. — The New York Times has removed the word “fetus” from its five-letter Wordle answersto avoid controversy.

Long Odds: Rich Strike, a replacement put in the Kentucky Derby lineup only on Friday, went off at the starting bell as an 80-1 to long shot and won the race for one of the biggest upsets in the history of America’s most famous horse race. The odds are likely to be better when Rich Strike races in the Preakness Stakes later this month.

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