Katya Adler
Europe Editor

Image source, Reuters

Returning to the talks we saw in the last couple of hours between France and Germany now... it’s EU tradition for their leaders to visit each other as the first trip abroad following their election. It's an intentionally symbolic display of the bloc’s Franco-German motor purring, even roaring ahead.

But the Russia-Ukraine crisis has fundamentally shifted not only Europe’s security dynamics, but the balance of power too.

During his first term in office, Emmanuel Macron often appeared the intern to the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But her successor, Olaf Scholz, has handled Russia sanctions and weapons deliveries to Ukraine slowly and clumsily - frustrating voters at home and allies abroad.

Freshly re-elected, President Macron believes then that this is his moment of EU leadership - in Brussels and globally.

But the current crisis has thrown up other key players too: Poland and the Baltic nations - hawkish on Nato and defence issues; while Hungary has pulled the EU backwards on energy sanctions, prompting unfavourable comparisons with the quick-to-act United States and triggering questions in Brussels as to whether the bloc’s rule that foreign policy decisions need to be unanimous is now outdated in these unpredictable and dangerous times.

Image source, Sputnik/Aleksey Druzhinin/Kremlin

Meanwhile, the Chinese president says every effort should be made to prevent the war in Ukraine becoming what he calls an "unmanageable situation".

The conflict must not be allowed to expand or intensify, Xi Jinping is quoted as saying by state media.

He was speaking in a video call with his German counterpart, Chancellor Olaf Scholz - who we've just seen at a press conference with the french president.

China has tried to appear neutral in the conflict so far - calling for a peaceful solution and declining to criticise its ally Russia for the invasion.

Macron thanks Chancellor Scholz and says they will create a Europe that is stronger and prepared to tackle "great challenges", such as digitalisation, environmental protection and all other challenges.

He says Germany plays a structural and vital role in all of these topics and has led action to try to stop the war.

"We need to do everything to protect democracy and stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine while protecting our citizens," he adds.

He says they will also increase new sanctions, adding European countries will continue to provide assistance, including financial and military aid.

Europe must reduce its dependency on Russian energy imports, he adds.

Image source, Reuters

In diplomatic moves, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed Emmanuel Macron to Berlin today and, speaking at a press conference just now, he congratulates the French president on his recent re-election.

He says good co-operation between France and Germany is important, and that the two countries need to "work well together for Europe to work well together".

No-one could have known the war in Ukraine would break out, he says, or that "thousands and thousands would experience death and destruction" as a result.

"We have experienced a turning point in history," he adds.

Andrew Harding
Reporting from Donbas

Russia’s Victory Day celebrations and speeches have slipped by, largely unseen and unacknowledged by Ukrainian forces busy fighting on the frontlines in northern parts of the Donbas region.

“I didn’t listen. Why would I?” said Nikolai Khanatov, head of the military-civilian administration in Popasna, speaking by phone from an undisclosed location.

After weeks of intense Russian bombardments, the town finally fell to Russian forces yesterday.

Khanatov said he feared that some 2,000 civilians, who’d been trapped in Popasna by the fighting, “will now be deported to Russia.”

Drone footage appears to show the extentof the damage, external there.

There is still no news about a local history teacher (see our earlier report about Mykhail Pankov) who was seized by Russian troops as he attempted to rescue civilians using his local school bus.

“I don’t understand this madness, in which everything is destroyed. So many dead, for the ambitions of an ageing madman (President Putin),” said Alexey Yukov, a Ukrainian volunteer who has been collecting bodies from no-man's-land in the region for weeks.

“The Russian army is taking enormous casualties. I don’t see how they can keep going."

Image source, Getty Images

After the capture of the town of Popansa in Luhansk yesterday, the relentless Russian bombardment of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine shows no sign of ceasing.

Battles are taking place around the town of Rubizhne (to the north of Severodonetsk) and Bilohorivka (to the west).

Further west, the mayor of the strategic town of Slovyansk says the Russian army has shelled the town centre.

Away from the Donbas, the governor of Mykolaiv says the region has seen more strikes than usual overnight with several people killed and wounded.

In the devastated city of Mariupol, the remaining Ukrainian forces are defending the Azovstal steelworks from a Russian assault.

And in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, the visiting European Council President, Charles Michel, had to seek shelter because of a missile strike, an EU official says.

Will Vernon
BBC News, Moscow

Image source, Getty Images

We spent the day first at the big military parade on Red Square, followed by the "Immortal Regiment" march - a mass procession anyone can join, where people are invited to carry portraits of their relatives and other Soviet citizens who fought in World War Two.

One thing that struck us was the lack of the pro-war "Z" sign - the symbol of Russian forces in Ukraine - at the events.

There was speculation the symbol would be prominently displayed on Victory Day, but it didn’t seem to be very much on show.

But there were troops marching on Red Square, so the booming voice of the announcer over the loudspeaker told us, that had been fighting in Ukraine.

Image source, EPA

Shortly before the parade started, the Kremlin announced that the flypast, which usually includes fighter jets, bombers and helicopters, had been cancelled.

The official reason given was bad weather, although conditions seemed fairly good.

A few days before 9 May, during one of the parade rehearsals, planes had flown over Moscow in a "Z" formation.

At the Immortal Regiment event, some people were wearing small "Z" badges or T-shirts, but they were very much in the minority.

Later, photos emerged on activist groups on Telegram showing people holding anti-war banners up during the march. Some people, activists said, were arrested by police.

Image source, KONSTANTIN.S

Russia has been accused of trying to house its servicemen in abandoned homes in the city of Kherson.

A Ukrainian intelligence update says Russian troops have been asking housing associations in two different districts for lists of empty properties.

Kherson, in the south, is the only major city Russia has gained since launching its invasion in February.

The Ukrainian update suggests the Kremlin is trying to tighten its grip there: increasing checkpoints and patrols, and attempting to convince the local population to succumb to the new regime.

Russia has attempted to bring the rouble into circulation in Kherson, and is reported to be planning a "referendum" that supposedly could see the city break away from Ukrainian control.

It hasn't yet responded to the latest claims.

Image source, .

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke this morning at a huge military parade in Moscow's Red Square on Victory Day - an annual public holiday celebrating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

In his annual address, Putin said Russian forces in Ukraine were fighting for the future of their "motherland", and blamed the West for provoking Russia.

Image source, EPA/RONALD WITTEK

French President Emmanuel Macron says it will probably take "several decades" for Ukraine to be confirmed as a European Union member.

But he adds Ukraine is "already a member" of the European family because of its "struggle" and "courage".

Macron also tells the European Parliament in Strasbourg he hopes the EU will "rapidly" move forward on Ukraine's accession.

Ukraine has completed its second questionnaire as part of the EU application process.

The Russian foreign ministry has hit out at protesters in Poland who threw red liquid over the Russian ambassador there. (See our earlier post here)

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says: "Neo-Nazis have once again shown their face - and it is bloody."

Russia has today been marking its victory over Germany in 1945 - and reiterating its claims it is acting to purge modern-day Ukraine of Nazis as well.

The attack happened as Sergei Andreyev and other Russian embassy officials went to lay wreaths at a cemetery in Warsaw. It was an act of remembrance for the Soviet soldiers killed fighting Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War Two.

Protesters told local media the red substance - which appeared to be paint - was to represent the blood of Ukrainians shed by Russian soldiers in the present invasion.

Commenting on the attack, Zakharova accused the West of "set[ting] a course for the reincarnation of fascism".

Image source, Getty Images

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling for immediate efforts to unblock the country's ports so wheat can be exported overseas.

Zelensky says it would help avert a global "food crisis [...] caused by Russia's aggressive actions".

He's made his plea on the Telegram messaging app after meeting European Council President Charles Michel in the southern port city of Odesa.

Russia and Ukraine together account for about 30% of the world's wheat exports, according to the World Food Programme.

Patrick Jackson
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Victory Day traditionally sees an outpouring of emotion in much of the former Soviet bloc: a mix of joy in victory over the Nazis and sorrow over the huge human cost of achieving it. This year the war in Ukraine, over lands ravaged by the Germans more than three-quarters of a century ago, has brought a new dimension, dividing people bitterly.

In Moldova, elderly Ukrainian refugees who survived World War Two have been sharing their thoughts with Russian photographer Sergei Stroitelev, in an article on the Meduza Russian-language news site, external.

Volodymyr, 92 and from Mykolaiv, says he is worried about his grandson who had fled Mariupol when the Russian "fascists" arrived. His grandson's mother-in-law, he says, has been killed by shrapnel while out collecting water and been buried in a vegetable garden. Other family members have been taken to Russia and contact has been lost with them.

"It's awful talking about this - there was nothing like this even in 1941 [when the Nazis invaded]," he says. "I just want to disappear and forget it all. I'm waiting only to die. Nothing else will save me."

The same news site has spoken to elderly Russians , externalwho also lived through World War Two.

The soldier father of Svetlana, 82, was killed in action soon after her birth and nobody knows to this day where he fell. She believes Russia is carrying on the same fight against fascists in Ukraine today.

"Russia will not surrender," she says. "We have a lot of people. A lot of soldiers will die. Let them die. But Russia will be victorious. They [Ukraine] shouldn't have betrayed Russia."

Valentina Cheskidova, 89, opposes the conflict because she knows just how awful war is, and says she cries all the time now.

"Any war is a horror," she says. "It's a tragedy for everyone, Ukrainians and Russians. Coffins go by containing little boys, children. I feel sorry for them all."

Caroline Davies
BBC News, Odesa

Image source, Reuters

The streets of Odesa are eerily quiet today and the city is under a curfew until 05:00 tomorrow morning while Russia celebrates Victory Day.

Over the past few days it has seen several Russian missile strikes.

On Saturday they hit the airport, damaging the runway and radar systems, and a nearby housing estate had many of its windows smashed by the force of multiple explosions.

On Sunday, authorities said two missiles had hit residential areas and today they said the wider region has seen four hits from Onyx missiles launched from Crimea.

Image source, Getty Images

The authorities have expressed concern that six ships and two submarines are also ready to launch missile strikes on the south.

Beyond repeated missile hits, Odesa has mostly avoided the heat of the war; the front line is several miles east between Mykolaiv and the Russian held city of Kherson.

Before curfew, the city’s coastal path was full of cyclists, dog walkers and families enjoying the sunshine. Sea view restaurants were open, although the beaches are closed with land mine warnings stuck into the sand.

The city’s landmarks are protected by sandbags but cafes still play classical music and jazz as people sit outside enjoying the sunshine.

After 75 days of war, the city is ready for a potential assault but many have settled into finding a new way of life alongside the ongoing conflict.

Image source, PA Media

More now from the UK defence secretary, who says Russian generals must face prosecution for war crimes against Ukraine.

Ben Wallace accuses Russia of "inflicting needless suffering in the service of lowly gangsterism" and says President Putin has dishonoured soldiers both past and present.

On the day Moscow staged a military parade marking victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, Wallace says Russia is "mirroring the fascism and tyranny of 70 years ago" in its invasion of Ukraine.

He also criticises military leaders for putting their desire to satisfy their higher commanders above that of serving their soldiers, citing reports of Russian forces employing mobile crematoria, adding they are "not just to hide Russian war crimes, they are for their own soldiers' corpses as well".

You can read more on Ben Wallace's comments here.

Earlier we reported on how the descriptions of television programmes on smart TVs in Russia had been hacked with an anti-war message.

It appears similar messages have been posted on the website of the pro-government Russian publication Lenta - but by two members of its staff.

According to independent news site Meduza, based in Latvia, there were about 20 different messages criticising the war, external or the Russian leadership on Lenta's website.

It says the slogans, which have since been deleted, included:

• "Vladimir Putin has turned into a pitiful dictator and paranoiac"
• “Russian authorities have banned journalists from talking about the negative”
• "Russia threatens to destroy the whole world"
• “War makes it easier to cover up economic failures"
• "Zelensky turned out to be cooler than Putin"

The material was removed from the site, but a cached version is still visible, external.

Meduza says they were all accompanied by the line: "Disclaimer: this material is not agreed with the leadership."

It says two employees of the pro-Kremlin publication took responsibility for the “performance”, adding they were now outside Russia and had written that they would probably need jobs, lawyers and political asylum.

Image source, PA Media

The Ukrainian ambassador to the UK has said the best way out of the war is “if Ukraine wins militarily”.

Russia and Ukraine have had six rounds of negotiations, Vadym Prystaiko said at a conference at King’s College London.

He said Russia had come to negotiate with “unrealistic” and “unjustified” expectations.

"I guess the best way out of it is if Ukraine wins militarily," said the country’s ambassador to the UK.

The cost of rebuilding Ukraine once the war has ended should fall to Russia and not “Western taxpayers” he added during the Defence of Europe conference.

Andrew Harding
Reporting from Donbas

Russian forces continued to shell Ukrainian towns in the northern Donbas on Monday.

A missile hit a building near the centre of Sloviansk around noon, sending a huge brown cloud into the sky, according to a local resident.

“It was an incredibly loud explosion. Much louder than the usual artillery. There’s no victory here today. Nothing to celebrate,” said Alex, a car mechanic, who asked that we not use his surname.

“I think the Russians are already running out of strength,” said Sloviansk’s Mayor Vadim Lyach, nonetheless urging all remaining civilians to leave the almost empty frontline town.

“It’s a hard fight. There might be a lot of [Russians], but we’re hanging in there,” said a Ukrainian army lieutenant, commanding a small group of tanks on a frontline west of Sloviansk. The officer declined to give his name.

“We have good motivation but I don’t think we can survive long without… heavy weapons from our international partners,” said Vladislav Kosovski, a soldier with the 93rd Battalion.

Image source, EPA

Russian forces are conducting "storming operations" on the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol backed by tanks and artillery fire, Ukraine's defence ministry says.

Defence Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk says he won't exclude the possibility of future air strikes on the plant, where the last remaining Ukrainian troops are holed up in Mariupol.

"In Mariupol, the enemy continues to block our units in the Azovstal factory. With the help of artillery and tank fire, [Russian troops] continue their assault," Motuzyanyk tells a news briefing.

He adds there are now seven Russian calibre launchers with munitions capability of up to 50 missiles in the Black Sea.

Putin previously told his defence minister not to storm Azovstal, to avoid loss of Russian lives, and Moscow has denied previous Ukrainian allegations of storming the complex. But Kremlin-backed forces have reportedly intensified their fire on the steelworks in recent days.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify these claims.

Sophie Williams
Reporting from Lviv

Image source, EPA

Here in Ukraine, we've been watching out for reaction to the Moscow parade.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak hit back at Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech.

"Nato countries were not going to attack Russia," he said.

"Ukraine did not plan to attack Crimea. The Russian military is dying, not defending their country, but trying to occupy another. There were no rational reasons for this war other than sick imperial ambitions."

Putin told the huge military parade his country's troops were "defending the motherland".

He also said the invasion of Ukraine was a necessary military operation and had been provoked by the West.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a video message in which he said Ukraine would not give a "single piece of our land" to Russia.

"We are fighting for a new victory. The road to it is difficult but we have no doubt that we will win," he said.