Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday told his country's Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square that "a real war" has been unleashed against Russia by the West's "untamed ambitions," shortly after the Kremlin's forces rained cruise missiles on Ukrainian targets.

"Today civilization is once again at a decisive turning point," Putin said at Moscow's annual commemorations celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. "A real war has been unleashed against our motherland."

Since Russia invaded its neighbour more than 14 months ago, the Kremlin's official narrative of the war has painted a picture of an existential conflict with the West, which in Moscow's view is merely using Ukraine as a tool to destroy Russia, re-write its history and crush its traditional values. That version of events has dominated Russian state media coverage of the war.

A man in a convertible vehicle stands and salutes during a parade, with soldiers seen standing along the side of the road. — Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu salutes during the parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. (Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/Reuters)

In his speech, Putin insisted that the West's "untamed ambitions, arrogance and impunity" are to blame for the conflict.

Putin welcomed soldiers fighting in Ukraine who were present at the parade.

"To Russia! To our brave armed forces! To victory!" Putin concluded the speech.

Second straight night of airstrikes

Russia unleashed a barrage of cruise missiles on Ukraine overnight into Tuesday, hours before the start of the Moscow parade, which this year took place amid tight security measures.

The Kremlin's forces launched 25 missiles overnight in a wave of attacks across Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said, adding that air defence had successfully destroyed 23 of them. It was the second night in a row of major Russian airstrikes and fifth so far this month.

A woman is shown standing with hands clasp in front of a wall. — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visits the Wall of Remembrance to pay tribute to killed Ukrainian soldiers, in Kyiv, on Tuesday. (Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters)

"Overnight into the 'sacred' May 9, [they] launched an attack on the territory of Ukraine," Ukraine's air force said.

In a Telegram post, the air force said eight Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from carriers in the Black Sea toward the east and 17 from strategic aircraft.

Debris fell on a house in the Holosiivskyi district in the southwest of Kyiv but caused little damage, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said. Debris lay in a road in the often-targeted Shevchenkivskyi district of central Kyiv.

Kyiv on Tuesday marked Europe Day, celebrating a declaration that led to the founding of the body that became the European Union. The missiles came before a visit from EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen urged EU member nations to take measures to prevent countries from helping Russia to circumvent the bloc's sanctions.

The EU has noticed that certain products that have been banned in order to undermine Russia's war effort are still getting through, she said. Von der Leyen did not name the countries, but unusual trade flows through China and Turkey have been on the EU's radar for some time.

'This is weak,' onlooker says of scaled-back event

Back in Russia, some two-dozen cities cancelled military parades for the first time in years. The Immortal Regiment processions, in which crowds take to the streets holding portraits of relatives who died or served in the Second World War— another pillar of the holiday — have also been cancelled in multiple cities.

Regional officials blamed unspecified "security concerns." Some speculated, however, that the reason behind cancelling Immortal Regiment marches was the fact that Russians might bring portraits of relatives who died in Ukraine to those processions, illustrating the scale of Russia's losses in the drawn-out conflict.

A row of tanks is seen moving down otherwise empty city streets. — Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems move toward Red Square in Moscow during the Victory Day military parade. Traditional parade flyovers were cancelled amid the ongoing war. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Reuters)

Moscow sought to project a show of force during its flagship parade on Red Square, with top-notch military equipment rumbling through it and leaders of ex-Soviet nations standing beside Putin.

Initially, only one of them — Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov — was expected to attend, but at the last minute on Monday officials confirmed that leaders of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were heading to Moscow as well.

Still, the parade looked more modest than usual: There were no military aircraft flying over Red Square, and fewer pieces of military equipment were displayed. For the first time in years, the parade ended in under an hour.

Some 8,000 troops took part in the parade in Moscow's Red Square on Tuesday — the lowest number since 2008. Even the procession in 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic started, featured some 13,000 soldiers, and last year, 11,000 troops took part.

"This is weak. There are no tanks," said Yelena Orlova, watching the vehicles rumble down Moscow's Novy Arbat Avenue after leaving Red Square. "We're upset, but that's all right; it will be better in the future."

The pared-down celebrations came after ambiguous official reports last week that two Ukrainian drones flew into the heart of Moscow under the cover of darkness and reached the Kremlin before being shot down.

The Kremlin billed it as an attempt at Putin's life. Ukraine denied involvement and the U.S. denied knowledge of the incident. (CBC/Reuters)

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