Victory Day unfolds quietly in Ukraine as Putin defends invasion ...

Images from a pre-war Ukraine seem all the more poignant now Post Verified: Database of 231 videos exposes the horrors of war in UkraineE.U. leader travels to Hungary, but fails to persuade Orban to back Russian oil embargoUpdates from key cities: Putin coy on declaring ‘war’ but continues assault on Ukraine’s south, eastPulitzer board honors journalists of UkraineBiden signs Ukraine lend-lease act into law, expediting military aidWhite House says Putin is ‘perverting history’ to try to justify ‘unjustified war’ in UkraineAnalysis: Russia’s Victory Day marks a war of competing nationalismsVideo shows strikes near Azovstal plant in MariupolRussian cities cancel Victory Day flyovers, citing ‘adverse weather’On an unexpectedly subdued Victory Day, Ukrainians see cause for hope Photos: Putin’s troops, tanks, missile launchers at Victory Day paradeZelensky adviser says Russian troops are committing ‘four new Buchas’ Officials, leaders offer mixed messages on Ukraine’s E.U. prospectsMid-level Russian officers refusing orders in Ukraine, Pentagon assessesImages from a pre-war Ukraine seem all the more poignant now Post Verified: Database of 231 videos exposes the horrors of war in UkraineE.U. leader travels to Hungary, but fails to persuade Orban to back Russian oil embargoUpdates from key cities: Putin coy on declaring ‘war’ but continues assault on Ukraine’s south, eastPulitzer board honors journalists of UkraineBiden signs Ukraine lend-lease act into law, expediting military aidWhite House says Putin is ‘perverting history’ to try to justify ‘unjustified war’ in UkraineAnalysis: Russia’s Victory Day marks a war of competing nationalismsVideo shows strikes near Azovstal plant in MariupolRussian cities cancel Victory Day flyovers, citing ‘adverse weather’On an unexpectedly subdued Victory Day, Ukrainians see cause for hope Photos: Putin’s troops, tanks, missile launchers at Victory Day paradeZelensky adviser says Russian troops are committing ‘four new Buchas’ Officials, leaders offer mixed messages on Ukraine’s E.U. prospectsMid-level Russian officers refusing orders in Ukraine, Pentagon assessesThis live coverage has ended. After weeks of rising fears and forecasts of escalation, Monday — Russia’s Victory Day holiday — unfolded relatively quietly in Ukraine, with limited reports of fighting and no visible sign of a new attempt by Moscow to further expand its invasion or formally declare war.Russian President Vladimir Putin did not mention Ukraine by name in his speech commemorating the Allied victory in World War II, but he repeated a litany of bogus claims about the country and his so-called “special military operation” there, falsely saying his army is fighting “executioners, punishers and Nazis.” In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky also marked the holiday, paying tribute to the 8 million Ukrainians who died in World War II and likening Putin to Adolf Hitler, saying the Russian leader is “following Nazi philosophy.”While shelling in Kharkiv was notably subdued, spasms of strikes were reported across southern and eastern Ukraine, where officials continued to warn residents of possible new Russian attacks. “We are all indebted to them.”Earlier in the day, a Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman said Russia was “storming” the embattled plant and added that Russian forces continued to blockade the remaining Ukrainian forces still there.The resumed attacks Monday came after 300 women, children and elderly people were evacuated over the weekend.The majority of Russian cities that had planned to stage an air show as part of Victory Day celebrations have canceled the event at the last minute.Out of 10 cities that reportedly scheduled and rehearsed an air show, only three proceeded with it on the day marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.In Moscow, eight MiG-29 jets were supposed to fly in a Z formation — to represent the symbol identifying Russian military vehicles in Ukraine and widely used in Russia to show support for the invasion.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the aviation part of Moscow’s Victory Day parade was canceled “due to weather,” according to state-run news agency Tass.According to weather forecasts, the Russian capital was expected to see intermittent rain and moderate wind throughout the day.Other cities followed suit, also citing poor weather. Some experts linked the smaller display this year to Russia’s losses of equipment in Ukraine.KYIV, Ukraine — The day on which many here feared that Russia would escalate its assault on Ukraine turned out to be very different.Instead of formally declaring war, annexing occupied areas or increasing bombardments, as many had expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t even mention Ukraine by name in his speech Monday commemorating the Allied triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II.Victory Day — when Russians and Ukrainians alike remember the millions of Soviet soldiers who lost their lives in that fight — was observed in a more somber and subdued way both in Moscow’s Red Square and across much of Ukraine, where it was the quietest day of the war so far.The Victory Day parade in Moscow was a relatively toned-down affair. “We all know perfectly well that the process to allow [Ukraine] to join would take several years — indeed, probably several decades,” he said in Strasbourg.“That is the truth, unless we decide to lower the standards for accession and rethink the unity of our Europe,” Macron added.He instead proposed a “European Political Community” that would encompass countries inside the bloc and others, such as Ukraine, that remain formally outside of it.The question will be debated at a summit in late June.The latest: Vladimir Putin defended his invasion of Ukraine on Russia’s Victory Day as fighting continued in the east and south of Ukraine.The fight: Russian forces continue to mount sporadic attacks on civilian targets in a number of Ukrainian cities.