MOSCOW/KYIV—Russia launched cruise missiles at Kyiv on Tuesday and marched troops across Moscow's Red Square as part of its yearly commemoration of World War II triumph.
President Vladimir Putin railed against "Western global elites" in a furious 10-minute address in front of the Kremlin, declaring civilisation to be at "a decisive turning point."
“A real war has been unleashed against our homeland,” said the Russian leader, who last year ordered what the West calls an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in Kyiv, where she dubbed Ukraine "the beating heart of today's European values," emphasizing how the war has alienated Russia from most of Europe and pushed Ukraine closer to the West.
Under Putin, the festival celebrating the Soviet triumph in World War II is the most significant day on the Russian calendar, since he compares his invasion of Ukraine to Russia's war against the Nazis. Ukraine, which suffered a bigger proportion of losses than Russia in WWII, sees this as an exploitation of common history to justify war.
The procession was full of customary pomp and circumstance, although it was cut back from past years. A lone World War II-vintage T-34 rumbled across Red Square instead of phalanxes of modern combat tanks. The routine fighter jet flyover was canceled.
Putin's message was further harmed by a fresh profanity-laced outburst from the commander of Russia's Wagner private army, directed at Moscow's generals for failing to provide his soldiers with enough weaponry.
“A combat order came yesterday which clearly stated that if we leave our positions [in Bakhmut], it will be regarded as treason against the motherland,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message. “[But] if there is no ammunition, then we will leave our positions and be the ones asking who is really betraying the Motherland.”
Despite a self-imposed deadline to provide Putin with a battlefield trophy in time for the holiday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated Moscow had failed to conquer Bakhmut. Moscow sees the capture of Bakhmut as a first step toward seizing other cities in Ukraine's industrial east.
Ukraine claimed its air defenses shot down 23 of 25 Russian cruise missiles fired mostly towards the capital Kyiv overnight, with no injuries reported.
Russia’s defense ministry said it had “launched a concentrated strike using high-precision, long-range sea and air-based weapons aimed against enemy barracks and ammunition depots.”
After a weeks-long respite, Russia restarted its long-range missile strikes against Ukraine in late April, and has unleashed a flurry of assaults in recent days.
By hosting von der Leyen, Zelenskyy was able to establish Ukraine's obvious split from Moscow.
“Our efforts for a united Europe, for security and peace, need to be as strong as Russia’s desire to destroy our security, our freedom, our Europe,” Zelenskyy said at their joint press conference in Kyiv.
Russia's growing diplomatic isolation has drew it closer to China, and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang stated on Tuesday that Beijing will maintain contact with all parties involved in the Ukraine conflict in order to reach an agreement.
European governments have chastised China for failing to designate Russia's incursion into Ukraine an invasion or to demand a Russian withdrawal.
The White House revealed a new security package for Ukraine in Washington, which includes more air defense systems and artillery ammunition.
