Vladmir Putin has said that Russia has repulsed '"international terrorism" as he blamed the West for sparking war in Ukraine in his annual Victory Day speech.
The Russian president said a "real war has been unleashed against Russia" adding that "civilization is again at a decisive turning point."
"A real war has been unleashed against our homeland.
"We have repulsed international terrorism, we will protect the inhabitants of Donbas, we will ensure our security," Putin said as the country marked the anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
Elsewhere in the 10-minute speech on Red Square, he said that Russia's future "rests on" soldiers fighting in Ukraine
"There is nothing more important now than your combat effort," the Russian president said, addressing troops fighting in Ukraine, some of whom were present at the parade.
He continued: "The security of the country rests on you today, the future of our statehood and our people depend on you."
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This year's Victory Day parade in Moscow to remember the fallen in the Second World War was always expected to be a pared-back affair, writes Dominic Nicholls, The Telegraph's Associate Editor.
With commitments to, and losses in the war in Ukraine, the amount of military equipment on display was always likely to be underwhelming compared to recent years.
But there's underwhelming and then there's "millennium bug" levels of underwhelming.
Tuesday's parade eclipsed even the latter.
Read more here. This article is part of The Telegraph's Dispatches newsletter. Sign up here to get exclusive insight delivered directly to your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.
Ukraine is on the "frontline of everything we Europeans cherish", Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday during a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, as she claimed Russia was troubled by Ukraine joining the EU, reports Joe Barnes.
"Courageously, Ukraine is fighting for the ideals of Europe that we celebrate today," the European Commission's president said.
"In Russia, Putin and his regime have destroyed these values, and now they're attempting to destroy them here in Ukraine because they're afraid of the success you represent and the example you show, and they are afraid of your path to the European Union."
Mrs von der Leyen called on Europe to make the "impossible possible" by allowing Ukraine to join the bloc in the future.
"We should never forget that peace in Europe seemed impossible, improbable and far too distant for much of the last century," she added.
"But it was achieved, despite the pain and despite the divisions of war. But as we stand here today in the country senselessly attacked, some might think it is impossible, improbable or too distant to talk about a free and peaceful Ukraine in the European Union."
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, branded a move by five European Union member states to ban imports of Ukrainian grains "unacceptable", reports Joe Barnes, The Telegraph's Brussels Correspondent.
"Protectionist measures from our neighbours cannot but disappoint softly speaking," he told a news conference with Ursula von der Leyen in Kyiv.
His rant came after the EU backed a ban on Ukrainian grain exports into five member states close to the border with the war-torn country.
Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia have all complained that their farmers are being undercut by cheap grain exports from Ukraine as logistics firms refuse to transport the shipments onwards.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the European Union should make a decision on formally opening talks on Ukraine's assession into the bloc, after it officially gained candidate status last year.
"The time has come to remove the artificial political uncertainty in the relations between Ukraine and the EU.
"The time has come to take a positive decision on the opening of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU," Mr Zelensky said during a press conference in Kyiv with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
Responding to Vladimir Putin's speech, Rishi Sunak said:
"There is only one person who is responsible for the illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and that is President Putin. The crimes that are being committed are appalling.
The suffering that is being inflicted on the Ukrainian people is appalling.
That is why it is right that we remain steadfast in supporting the people of Ukraine to stand up to that aggression.
That's what I and the United Kingdom will continue to do."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted the need for faster deliveries of artillery shells from the European Union during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
"We discussed a key issue: the speed of procurement and delivery of these munitions. The need for them on the battlefield is already present," President Zelensky said during a press conference in Kyiv.
European gas prices could nearly treble this winter and remain higher into summer next year, according to Goldman Sachs, delivering a shock to households and a boost to Vladimir Putin's efforts to fund his war in Ukraine.
Wholesale gas prices could rise above ?100 per megawatt hour in the second half of the year, nearly three times higher than present levels of around ?36.
European gas prices have fallen after the continent emerged from winter with gas stocks more than half full and close to record highs for the time of year.
However, Goldman Sachs expects European consumption and liquified natural gas (LNG) demand elsewhere in the world to rebound in the second half of 2023 raising prices on average above ?90 per megawatt hour.
In a note to investors, analysts warned that "even if industrial demand remains sluggish this summer, this is not a guarantee that storage will be comfortable throughout winter".
It said there is "only so much capacity to store gas ahead of heating season".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed European integration, defence matters and sanctions against Russia at talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
After talks held in Kyiv as Russia celebrated the anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, Zelensky said he expected the European Union to soon approve more sanctions on Russia over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said peace negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine were "not possible at this moment," in an interview published by Spanish daily El Pais.
His statement came as the leaders of Russia and Ukraine called for victory during events commemorating the end of World War II.
"It is clear that the (two) parties are completely absorbed in this war" and "convinced that they can win", said the UN chief during an interview with the Spanish daily, El Pais.
Guterres said he hoped it was possible "in the future" to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table.
Vladimir Putin watched a single World War Two tank roll through Moscow as part of a scaled back Victory Day parade in which he claimed war had been unleased on Russia.
The T-34, an 83-year-old relic, has traditionally opened the annual display of military might because of its symbolic role in helping Russia overcome Nazi Germany.
However, the Soviet-era tank is normally accompanied by more modern fighting machines in a full display of Moscow's military might.
Read the full story from Joe Barnes and Nataliya Vasilyeva here
A prosperous Ukraine inside the European Union will be the strongest possible rejection of "imperialist" Vladimir Putin's "brutal aggression", German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said as he urged support for Kyiv for "as long as necessary", reports James Crisp, The Telegraph's Europe Editor.
Mr Scholz called for a reformed and larger "geopolitical Europe" , without the need for unanimity in foreign policy decisions, in a speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday in which he said the EU should not be intimidated by Russia.
"In Moscow Putin is parading his soldiers, tanks and artillery. Let's not be intimidated. Let's stand firm in our support for Ukraine as long as necessary," Mr Scholz said on May 9, which is Europe Day, as well as the day Russia celebrates victory in World War Two with a military parade in Red Square.
"I don't think any of us wants to go back to a time when the law of the jungle reigned in Europe, when small countries had to bow to large countries, when freedom was a privilege of a few rather than a fundamental right for everyone."
He said, "Our European Union, united in its diversity ,is the best insurance that we have to ensure that this past does not return.
"The message of the ninth of May is not what's coming from Moscow today. The message is ours. And it is that the past will not triumph over the future. Our future is the European Union."
The head of Russia's private Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin accused Moscow's top generals of trying to "deceive" President Vladimir Putin over the Kremlin's Ukraine campaign.
"If all the tasks are being carried out in such a way as to deceive the commander-in-chief (Putin), then either he will rip your a*** or the Russian people will, who will be angry that the war is lost," Prigozhin said.
The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin questioned the Kremlin's ability to defend the country as Ukraine prepares for a spring offensive.
"Why is the state not able to defend its country?" Prigozhin said in a scathing video, adding that Ukraine was hitting Russian border regions "successfully".
He claimed that Russian soldiers were "fleeing" the army because the defence ministry was "instead of fighting, scheming all the time."
President Vladimir Putin said that Russians were united in a "sacred" fight with the West over Ukraine that would end in victory, and accused the United States and its allies of forgetting the Soviet triumph over the Nazis in World War Two.
Putin has repeatedly likened the war in Ukraine - which he casts as a defensive move against a West which wants to carve up Russia - to the challenge Moscow faced when Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.
"The decisive battles for the fate of our Motherland have always become patriotic, all-national and sacred," the 70-year-old president told veterans and soldiers assembled on Red Square for the annual Victory Day parade.
Russia launched a large missile attack against Ukrainian cities overnight, the fifth air attack so far this month, reports Roland Oliphant, The Telegraph's Senior Foreign Correspondent in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian air force said it intercepted 23 of 25 missiles fired at the country, most of them launched by Russian strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea region.
In Dnipro in central Ukraine loud explosions were heard at about 10 PM as air defence systems engaged incoming missiles.
Authorities later said eight missiles had been fired at the region, seven of them at the city itself. Fragments of one missile struck the roof of a four storey apartment block and penetrated as deep as the third floor, badly damaging several homes. One woman was taken to hospital with spinal and brain injuries.
The warhead was found unexploded on the third floor and made safe by bomb disposal teams before being removed, local authorities said. About 40 people were evacuated from the building.
Falling debris fell on a house in the Holosiivskyi district in the southwest of Kyiv, Kyiv's Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said on his Telegram messaging channel, adding there were no casualties nor much damage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country's future "rests on" soldiers fighting in Ukraine during a speech at Moscow's Victory Day parade, taking place 15 months into the Kremlin's offensive in Ukraine.
"There is nothing more important now than your combat effort," Putin said, addressing troops fighting in Ukraine, some of whom were present at the parade.
"The security of the country rests on you today, the future of our statehood and our people depend on you."
Russia has scrapped the traditional fly-past at the Victory Day parade on Red Square, reports Nataliya Vasilyeva.
Questions about security for the fly-past were raised after a daring drone attack on the Kremlin last week.
The Kremlin, however, never confirmed that jets would not be deployed at the parade.
Last year, authorities scrapped the fly-past, citing weather conditions, although similar weather did not hinder it in the past.
Vladimir Putin has stolen the show at Russia's annual Victory Day parade in Moscow by portraying Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the country's yet another existential battle, writes Nataliya Vasilyeva, The Telegraph's Russia Correspondent.
Victory Day that Russia marks on May 9 has always been the moment to mourn the colossal military and civilian losses that the Soviet Union sustained in the Nazi invasion.
The Russian president in the traditional address to the troops said a few words commemorating the Soviet casualties before launching into an angry tirade about Russia's protracted invasion of Ukraine.
Standing on stage on Red Square, surrounded by elderly veterans and young officers, Mr Putin lashed out at the West, saying a "real war has been unleashed against Russia" and sought to portray Ukraine as a "hostage" of the West and its "neo-Nazi" allies.
He likened Russia's own unprovoked invasion of Ukraine to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, portraying Russia as a victim of its enemies' plans to "destroy and decimate" it.
President Vladimir Putin told Russians that the world was at a key turning point and they were engaged in a patriotic struggle for the future of their country, as the country marked the anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
"Today, civilisation is again at a decisive turning point.
"A real war has been unleashed against our homeland. We have repulsed international terrorism, we will protect the inhabitants of Donbas, we will ensure our security," Putin said as the country marked the anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
In a 10-minute speech on Red Square, Putin repeated familiar messages he has delivered many times in the nearly 15 months of Russia's war in Ukraine.
He said "Western globalist elites" were sowing Russophobia and aggressive nationalism, while the Ukrainian people had become "hostages to a state coup" and to the ambitions of the West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin walked from the Kremlin on to Red Square to be greeted by mass ranks of military personnel as the start of a Victory Day celebrations to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two.
State television showed Putin positioned next to World War II veterans on Red Square where thousands of Russian army personnel in ceremonial uniform gathered to march to the accompaniment of a military brass band.
Victory Day is one of the most important public holidays in Russia, when people commemorate the huge sacrifices made by the Soviet Union during what is called the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, in which around 27 million citizens perished.
This anniversary is even more emotionally charged as Russia mourns thousands of soldiers killed in the nearly 15-month war in Ukraine which shows no sign of ending.
At least six post-Soviet leaders including the prime minister of Armenia and the president of Kazakhstan are expected to attend the military parade that fetes the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Political analyst Arkady Dubnov said that "for the first time in many years" Putin will be surrounded at a Victory Day parade by a number of post-Soviet leaders.
"Despite the serious weakening of its global positions after February 24, 2022, Russia remains to a certain extent the metropolis of a former empire whose actions have to be taken into account," Mr Dubnov said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that "all necessary measures" were being taken to ensure the safety of the leaders.
Vladimir Putin has arrived at Red Square in Moscow for the Victory Day parade.
The Russian president is set to address thousands of troops standing at attention in Moscow's Red Square amid ramped-up security.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has arrived in Kyiv to mark the Europe Day celebration of peace and unity, as Ukraine delivered a symbolic retort to Moscow's Victory Day parade.
The president of the European Commission travelled on an overnight train from Poland to see President Volodymyr Zelensky and work on Ukraine's quest for eventual EU membership, a reporter on the train said.
The Ukrainian leader has decreed that May 9 would be celebrated in his country as Europe Day, as it is in Brussels, spurning the martial Victory Day tradition of the former Soviet Union.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Russia "will prevail" in its fight against what he described as "imperialists," state news agency KCNA said, in remarks seen to be aimed at Ukraine and its Western supporters, such as the United States.
North Korea has forged closer ties with the Kremlin and backed Moscow after it invaded Ukraine last year, including its proclamation later of having annexed parts of Ukraine that most U.N. members condemned as illegal.
"We send warm wishes to you, the Russian army and the people of Russia for their holy fight to preserve world peace," the agency quoted Kim as telling Russian President Vladimir Putin in a letter.
Kim also congratulated Putin on Tuesday's Victory Day anniversary that celebrates the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany, saying Russia would continue to protect its "autonomy" and the "stability of the region".
Senior United Nations officials and activists have demanded that the world invest more to develop new vaccines and tackle a surge in tuberculosis fueled by Covid-19 and the conflict in Ukraine.
Dr Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the Stop TB Partnership, told a press conference at the UN that the war is having "a huge impact" on efforts to treat people with TB and diagnose new cases.
Ukraine has the highest number of estimated people with TB in the European region - 34,000 - and also a high number with drug-resistant TB, Dr Ditiu said.
"It's remarkable, the fact that the Ukrainian people are actually showing an amazing resilience in doing their best to maintain the services for TB," Dr Ditiu said. "But obviously a lot of people left the country."
Nonetheless, she said, major efforts have been made to track down those with the disease, and a key priority remains to ensure that people in Ukraine have access to treatment.
Tuberculosis is the biggest infectious disease killer in the world today, taking the lives of around 4,400 people every day around the world including 700 children.
The United Nations said no ships were inspected on Sunday or Monday under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, which Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18 over obstacles to its own grain and fertiliser exports.
Officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations make up a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul, which implements the Black Sea deal agreed in July.
Ukraine has been putting forward daily a list of ships to be authorised.
Ukraine has told the JCC that 62 vessels are waiting to travel to Ukrainian ports, of which eight have been put forward for authorisation by the JCC, the UN said on Monday.
The JCC has not agreed to any new authorisations for the past several days.
Russia bombarded Kyiv with about 15 cruise missiles on Tuesday morning, the second attack in as many days, with air defence systems shooting all of them down, officials said.
"As at the front, the plans of the aggressor failed," Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv's city military administration, said in comments posted on Telegram .
"(They) try to kill as many civilians as possible - on this day."
According to preliminary information, there were no casualties in the attack that was carried out with cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea region.
Kyiv's Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said falling debris fell on a house in the Holosiivskyi district in the southwest of Kyiv.
In the often-targeted Shevchenkivskyi district of central Kyiv, debris was found on a road.
"Kyiv stood up again and will stand up in the future," Mr Popko said.
The Kremlin has branded Volodymyr Zelensky a "traitor" after his decision to move the day that his country marks the allied victory over Nazi Germany.
Mr Zelensky on Monday annoyed Russia by changing the day it commemorates the war to May 8, aligning it with Western nations in a repudiation of its Soviet past.
"May our victory over the current evil of Rashism be the best way to honour the memory of those who fought against and defeated Nazism," Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address, using a commonly used term in Ukraine to denote "Russian fascism".
Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said Mr Zelenskiy was a "traitor" and said he had betrayed the memory of Ukrainians who died fighting the Nazis.
Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, suffered higher per-capita casualties than Russia in the Second World War and was home to a significant Jewish population that was wiped out in the Holocaust.
On the day of Russia's parade, Mr Zelensky will underscore Ukraine's ambition to join the West by receiving European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Ukrainian forces shelled the Belgorod region on Russia's border with Ukraine on Monday, injuring at least five people and damaging houses and power lines, the region's governor said.
The town of Shebekino in southern Belgorod was shelled three times, injuring five, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Telegram. At least five other settlements also came under fire, he said.
Late on Monday, Russia's air defence systems shot down a drone over the town of Valuyki, Mr Gladkov said. There was no immediate information on casualties and destruction, but emergency services were working on the site.
Ukraine's air defence systems were repelling Russian attacks on Kyiv, the country's military administration said early on Tuesday, after air raid alerts sounded across the country.
"Air defence systems are working on the outskirts of Kyiv," the administration said on Telegram.
Tuesday's attacks came a day after Russia launched its biggest drone swarm yet in a renewed air campaign unleashed 10 days ago after a lull since early March.
Putin will today deliver a speech in the Red Square, where he will be joined by leaders of several former Soviet republics.
Like last year, he is likely to compare the fighting in Ukraine with the Second World War in a bid to whip up support for his war.
In last year's address he made few direct mentions of the invasion of Ukraine but called on Russians to live up to the bravery of their ancestors.
"The defence of her homeland, when her fate was being decided, has always been sacred," he said.
"With such feelings of genuine patriotism, they rose for the fatherland, militiamen of Minim and Pozharsky, went on the attack in the Borodino field, fought with the enemy near Moscow and Leningrad, Putin and Minsk, Stalingrad and Kurs, Sevastopol and Kharkov."
"Now, these days, you are fighting for our people in the Donbas, for the security of our homeland - Russia."
Last year Putin attacked Nato for expanding towards Russia's borders and hailed Soviet heroism in resisting Hitler. Since then, Finland - which borders Russia - has also joined Nato.
He said: "Nato is actively pursuing our territory. That is absolutely unacceptable to us. We are talking about neo-Nazis in Ukraine that the US and its partners are working with."
Vladimir Putin is set to preside over Victory Day celebrations overshadowed by Russia's battlefield failures in Ukraine.
We will bring you the latest updates as they happen today.