Ukraine live briefing: Wagner chief criticizes war effort as Putin presides over scaled-back Victory Day; U.S. announces new aid

Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the Wagner head, claimed that his troops had “no ammunition” and that Russian troops were fleeing their positions in Ukraine. Blaming “those who give them orders and who set the tasks,” he said that “the fish rots from the head.” He declared that it was no time to celebrate: “Victory Day is the victory of our grandfathers. We don’t deserve this victory one millimeter.”

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a $1.2 billion aid package aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses and sustaining its ammunition supply.

Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.

A muted Victory Day

• In a brief speech under tight security at a scaled-down parade for Victory Day, a holiday commemorating the Soviet Union’s role in the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, Putin claimed that “real war” is being waged against Russia and accused Western nations of stoking conflict and treating Ukraine as a “bargaining chip.” The traditional military flyover was canceled, as were celebrations in at least 20 cities due to security concerns, after what Moscow alleges was a drone attack on the Kremlin last week.
• Military experts noted that the 45-minute parade featured about 50 vehicles, a drastic decrease from the 2021 event that showcased 131 pieces, and there was only one tank — a World War II-era T-34. The traditional flyover of military aircraft was canceled.
• Putin attended the commemoration in Red Square with a small group of foreign leaders, mostly from former Soviet states such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Kazakhstan. Wearing a black coat with a St. George ribbon pinned to his chest, he greeted World War II veterans and said, “We are proud of the participants of the ‘special military operation,’” referring to the war in Ukraine. “The future of our statehood and our people depends on you.”
• Protesters in Warsaw blocked Russian diplomats from laying flowers at the Soviet Military Center to commemorate soldiers killed in World War II. The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the incident in a Tuesday statement, calling it “another manifestation of unfriendly attitude from the Polish side” and an affront to those killed.
• “Victory Day is supposed to be about peace and unity in Europe,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news briefing Tuesday. “It’s supposed to be about the end of war and bloodshed and suffering. Instead, Mr. Putin promised only more violence and spewed only more lies about a war he falsely claims has been unleashed against Russia. Make no mistake, Russia is the aggressor here.”

More key updates

• The newly announced U.S. aid package includes 155 mm artillery rounds, commercial satellite imagery services and equipment to integrate Western air defense launchers with Ukraine’s systems, the Department of Defense said in a news release. The aid is being provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, meaning it will be spent over a longer timeline. The latest package brings the U.S.'s financial commitment to Ukraine to more than $37.6 billion since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in Kyiv on Tuesday, to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in celebrating Europe Day on May 9, a holiday honoring “peace and unity” on the continent. She also announced further economic sanction proposals on Russian entities. “We continue to do everything in our power to erode Putin’s war machine and his revenues,” she said at a news conference alongside Zelensky.
• In his own Europe Day remarks, Zelensky drew a parallel between the battle against Nazism and his country’s fight against the Russian invasion. “The more people know the honest history, the more they see the commonalities between the brutal aggressions of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries,” he said in a Tuesday address. “It is only a matter of time before the current aggressor loses,” he added, "like the aggressor who lost 78 years ago, before Russian revanchism is crushed by the bravery of our warriors and the joint power of the free world.”
• Russia is preparing to evacuate more than 3,000 staff members from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest facility of its kind in Europe, where experts have warned that fighting could lead to a disastrous leak of nuclear material, according to Ukraine’s nuclear operator. Occupying Russian authorities have also evacuated nearly 1,700 civilians from communities near the facility ahead of a potential Ukrainian offensive in the region, according to a Moscow-installed official.
• “We need to continue to support [Ukraine] irrespective of whether this forthcoming offensive generates huge gains on the battlefield,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said during a joint news conference Tuesday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. "[Until] this conflict is resolved and resolved properly, it is not over,” he said. Blinken, for his part, reiterated that the U.S. intended to provide indefinite backing to Ukraine.

Battleground updates

• Explosions rattled Kyiv at dawn Tuesday as Russia made its fifth attack on the Ukrainian capital in nine days. The city’s military administration posted on Telegram that several air targets were destroyed and said there were no reported casualties. The leader of Kyiv’s military administration, Serhiy Popko, attributed the attack to Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, writing on Telegram that Russia has given itself a “sacred day” on which to “try to kill as many civilians as possible.”
• Arman Soldin, a journalist for Agence France-Presse, was killed near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Tuesday, the news agency said in a statement posted to Twitter.
• Britain appears poised to send Kyiv longer-range missiles that could reach deeper into Russian-held territory, weapons that the United States has avoided providing. The British Defense Ministry asked an alliance of Northern European countries for “expressions of interest” in providing Ukraine strike capabilities with a range of up to 300 kilometers, or about 186 miles. A final decision has not yet been made.

Global impact

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Europe should not be intimidated by Moscow’s military display. Speaking at the European Union’s Parliament in Strasbourg, France, he said that “2,200 kilometers northeast from here, Putin is parading his soldiers, tanks and missiles today,” a reference to Russia’s Victory Day events. “We must not be intimidated by this show of power! Let’s stand firm in our support for Ukraine.”
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• The United Nations reported Monday that there have been at least 23,606 civilian casualties in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has confirmed 8,791 civilians killed and 14,815 injured, but it acknowledges that its count is incomplete and “believes that the actual figures are considerably higher,” given limited information, the report said.

From our correspondents

What to know about Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: Rocket and mortar attacks near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine have sparked international concern, prompting world leaders and even Pope Francis to plead for calm. “Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster,” Zelensky said last summer.

Nearly a year later, the situation at the facility — which is controlled by Russia but connected to Ukraine’s power grid — remains dire, with Russian authorities preparing to evacuate about 3,100 staff members from areas in and around the facility this week. Claire Parker and Erin Cunningham explain the significance of Zaporizhzhia’s power plant and what is at stake.

Missy Ryan, Kate Brady, Karen DeYoung, Robyn Dixon and Mary Ilyushina contributed to this report