Ukraine war live updates: Putin’s ‘one-tank’ parade prompts questions; more calls for Wagner Group to be labeled terrorist group

The make-up of Russia’s annual Victory Day Parade in Red Square highlighted the material and strategic communications challenges the military is facing 15 months into the war in Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Wednesday.

“Over 8,000 personnel reportedly took part in the parade, but the majority were auxiliary, paramilitary forces, and cadets from military training establishments,” the ministry said on Twitter, adding that “the only personnel from deployable formations of regular forces were contingents of Railway Troops and military police.”

The sole tank on parade — a vintage T-34 from a ceremonial unit — could also have been deliberate, the U.K. noted.

“Despite heavy losses in Ukraine, Russia could have fielded more armoured vehicles. The authorities likely refrained from doing so because they want to avoid domestic criticism about prioritising parades over combat operations.”

— Holly Ellyatt

The U.K. is reportedly considering whether to designate the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force fighting in Ukraine (as well as being involved in other conflicts in Africa) as a “terrorist organization,” with France calling on the EU to recognize the group as such.

The U.K. is reportedly set to classify the Wagner Group in this category, according to a report in The Times newspaper. The move would see sanctions imposed on the group that has been fighting in Ukraine, particularly around the town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.

The Home Office has been building a case for two months and proscription is “imminent” within weeks, according to a government source cited by the newspaper.

On Tuesday, the French Parliament called on the EU to formally label Wagner as a terrorist group, which would mean the EU could freeze assets belonging to the group and its members and ban EU citizens from having dealings with it.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia’s scaled-down Victory Day military parade on Tuesday showed not only Russia’s insecurities over possible Ukrainian attacks (security concerns were the ostensible reason for scaled-back events on May 9) but also showed military desperation.

The fact that only one Stalin-era tank was on display in the annual military parade through Red Square was particularly eye-catching, analysts noted.

“It would be hard to image a more fitting symbol of Russia’s declining military fortunes than the sight of a solitary Stalin-era tank trundling across Red Square during the country’s traditional Victory Day celebrations on May 9,” Peter Dickinson, editor of the UkraineAlert journal at the Atlantic Council, commented Tuesday.

“For the past two decades, Vladimir Putin has used Victory Day to showcase modern Russia’s resurgence as a military superpower, with dozens of the very latest tanks typically taking part in each annual parade. This year, however, the only tank on display was a T-34 model dating back to World War II,” he said, noting that the “embarrassing absence of tanks at this year’s Victory Day parade has been widely interpreted as further evidence of Russia’s catastrophic losses in Ukraine.”

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War also noted Tuesday that the Victory Day events showcased “no modern tanks, which Russia badly needs in Ukraine” and that it “demonstrated the further degradation of the Russian military, despite the Kremlin’s attempts in previous weeks to downplay Victory Day by downsizing parades and outright canceling events.”

 Ukrainians themselves were quick to comment on the smaller Victory Day parade.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s official Twitter account quipped that “modern Russian military equipment can be found much more easily at Ukrainian military trophies exhibitions than at the Victory Parade in Moscow.”

 — Holly Ellyatt

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky thanked President Joe Biden for the latest security assistance package worth $1.2 billion.

“There is another good news from partners. From what can be said publicly, there is a new defense package from the United States,” Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel.

“Artillery, protection against missiles and terrorist drones, other things to strengthen our defenders. Thank you to president Biden, bipartisan Congress, and every American family for your continued support and for the American strength that keeps us strong,” he added.

The new weapons package brings U.S. total commitment to more than $36.9 billion since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked invasion last February.

— Amanda Macias

Agence France-Presse video photographer Arman Soldin has died in Ukraine, the French news wire service said on Twitter.

Soldin, who was AFP’s Ukraine video coordinator, was killed by rocket fire near the outskirts of Bakhmut, according to the news agency.

“We are devastated to learn of the death of AFP video journalist Arman Soldin in eastern Ukraine today,” the French wire service wrote on Twitter. “All of our thoughts go out to his family and loved ones.”

— CNBC’s Amanda Macias and Ari Messinis | AFP | Getty Images

Ukraine’s military said Russian forces launched 20 missiles against the cities of Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region. More than half of the missiles used were air-launched cruise missiles.

Ukrainian generals also said in their evening update that fierce battles continue in the Ukrainian cities of Bakhmut and Maryinka.

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal thanked the United Kingdom for training Ukrainian troops as Kyiv continues to fight off Moscow’s invasion.

“More than 50,000 were trained here in Great Britain and we continue this mission together and I’m sure it will be our mutual victory in the future,” Shmyhal said in an interview with Sky News.

“I am sure that the most important Victory Day for Ukraine will be victory day in this terrible Russian full-scale aggression against Ukraine,” he added, referencing May 9 celebrations.

— Amanda Macias

Russia has been celebrating Victory Day today, with military parades and events around the country, albeit on a smaller-scale than in previous years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the crowds in Red Square in Moscow, claiming that a “real war” was being waged against Russia and that the country had to fight for its future.

Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago but has portrayed its so-called “special military operation” there as a necessity, claiming baselessly that it faced an existential threat from Ukraine and the West.

Here’s more: Russia’s Victory Day in pictures: Putin watches on during scaled-back parade

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech as Moscow’s annual Victory Day parade got underway in Moscow that “real war is being waged against our Motherland.”

More than 10,000 people and 125 units of weapons and military equipment are set to be involved in the procession through Red Square in the Russian capital on Tuesday. The event commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

The Russian president gave a 10-minute speech in which he said Russia wanted a peaceful future but that “Western elites” were “sowing hatred and Russophobia” and that Ukrainians had become “hostages to a state coup” and the ambitions of the West.

He said the West had forgotten the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and that Russia was currently fighting for its own survival.

“Today, 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, according to comments translated by Reuters.

Putin and other heads of state from former Soviet states, as well as top military personnel and war veterans, are attending the event today.

— Holly Ellyatt

Despite being one of the most important dates in Russia’s calendar, Victory Day in Russia has not been what it was for a number of years now.

The Covid-19 pandemic and now the ongoing war with Ukraine have sorely affected annual commemorations of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

This year, Russia’s growing domestic insecurities as a result of the war — and an uptick on attacks on its own soil — is also marring the commemorative event, with at least six regions (including Crimea) and 21 cities canceling their Victory Day parades, Britain’s Ministry of Defense noted last Friday.

Moscow’s Victory Day celebration is likely to be held on a much smaller scale this year and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reception following the parade will not go ahead. The reception was last held in 2019, the U.K. noted.

The traditional “March of the Immortal Regiment,” in which family members display photographs of dead veterans of World War II, has also been canceled. That follows the recent cancellation of the Russian-hosted International Army Games, the U.K. noted.

The timing of a recent alleged drone strike on the Kremlin a few days before Victory Day showed, the ministry said, “Russia’s increasing vulnerability to such attacks and has almost certainly raised the threat perception of the Russian leadership over the Victory Day events.”

“The potential for protests and discontent over the Ukraine war are also likely to have influenced the calculus of the Russian leadership.”

The Kremlin said all possible security measures were in place ahead of this year’s Victory Day and that Putin will watch the parade on Red Square along with the leaders of other former Soviet republics that now form part of a bloc known as the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The heads of state will then lay flowers and have an informal breakfast together, Peskov said. The parade is due to start at 10a.m. Moscow time. Putin is due to give a speech at the event and is also expected to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

— Holly Ellyatt