The UK Defence Secretary is expected to accuse Vladimir Putin's regime of "mirroring the fascism and tyranny" of the Nazis in a speech, as Moscow prepares to celebrate the triumph over Nazi Germany on Monday. 

Ben Wallace will use a major speech to call for Mr Putin and his inner circle to face the same fate as the Nazis, who ended up defeated and on trial for their war crimes. 

The speech comes as Russia is set to mark Victory Day with a military parade as the country marks the defeat of the Nazis in 1945. 

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed worsening attacks on Mariupol could be linked to the celebration of Moscow's historic triumph. 

Russian troops have intensified their attempts to capture a vast steel mill where an estimated 2000 Ukrainian fighters have continued to resist the invaders. 

The mill is the only part of the city not overtaken by the invaders, and its defeat would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and allow Russia to establish a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.

READ MORE: Fresh effort races to rescue civilians from Mariupol plant

The fighters in the Azovstal factory have rejected deadlines set by the Russians for laying down their arms even as attacks continued by warplanes, artillery and tanks.

The UK Ministry of Defence has claimed that the Russian invasion has "revealed shortcomings in its ability to conduct precision strikes at scale" as supplies and munitions have depleted as the conflict enters its eleventh week.

A daily intelligence update read: "At the onset of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia publicly promoted its ability to conduct surgical strikes and limit collateral damage.

"It stated that Ukrainian cities would therefore be safe from bombardment.

"However, as the conflict continues beyond Russian pre-war expectations, Russia’s stockpile of precision-guided munitions has likely been heavily depleted.

"This has forced the use of readily available but ageing munitions that are less reliable, less accurate and more easily intercepted.

"Russia will likely struggle to replace the precision weaponry it has already expended."

It added that Moscow has subjected Ukrainian cities and towns to "intense and indiscriminate bombardments with little or no regard for civilian casualties".

According to the Telegraph and Times, the Defence Secretary is expected to say today: "Through their invasion of Ukraine, Putin, his inner circle and generals are now mirroring the fascism and tyranny of 70 years ago, repeating the errors of last century’s totalitarian regimes.”

He will add: “Their fate must also, surely, eventually be the same.”

Mr Wallace's speech, at the National Army Museum in London, will also directly criticise the behaviour of Russian commanders for war crimes and their incompetence in a campaign which has failed to secure the gains expected by Mr Putin.

Mr Wallace’s speech comes after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused Russia of war crimes over the bombing of a school in eastern Ukraine where civilians were sheltering.

READ MORE: Ukraine war: Defenders inside Mariupol steel mill refuse to surrender

Up to 60 are feared dead after the school in Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine was bombed and caught fire on Saturday.

The Foreign Secretary said she was “horrified” and added that Mr Putin’s regime would be held to account.

Around 90 people were thought to have been sheltering at the school, but just 30 have been rescued.

Ms Truss tweeted: “Horrified by Russia’s latest attack on a school in Luhansk, resulting in the deaths of innocent people sheltering from Russian bombardment.”

She said the deliberate targeting of civilians and infrastructure “amounts to war crimes” and “we will ensure Putin’s regime is held accountable”.