Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv early Tuesday, marking the fifth aerial attack on Ukraine’s capital this month and coinciding with Russia’s World War II Victory Day holiday.

President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech at a Red Square military parade despite heightened security concerns, vowing to pursue his invasion and accusing his enemies of seeking to dismember Russia. Authorities canceled or scaled back plans for events marking the holiday and banned the use of drones after the incident at the Kremlin last week.

Ukrainian Army Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said air-defense forces had destroyed 23 out of 25 Russian cruise missiles launched at the country late Monday and early Tuesday from the Black Sea area and from aircraft operating out of the Caspian region.

Key Developments

• Putin Vows Victory in Ukraine at Scaled-Back Red Square Parade
• European Spies Piece Together Strategy Behind Russian Abuses
• Ukraine Should Get Concrete Path to Join NATO, Estonia Says
• EU Proposes Curbs on Several Chinese Firms for Aiding Russia

(All times CET)

China’s Exports to Russia Hit Record (11 a.m.)

China’s exports to Russia hit a record in April, jumping 153% from a year earlier to $9.6 billion in a sign of increasingly close economic relations.

Firms in China imported $9.6 billion worth of oil, gas and other goods, taking total trade to the second-highest level on record — some $19 billion, just shy of March’s peak.

McConnell Says Congress Will Keep Funding Kyiv (11 a.m.)

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell predicted US funding to support Ukraine’s military will continue to flow despite growing calls from isolationist members of his own party to reduce or end aid to Kyiv.

“I do think that we have enough support within Congress to sustain this for a good deal longer,” McConnell said. “All the leadership in the House and Senate in my party is very much in favor of defeating the Russians.” The Kentucky Republican also called on President Joe Biden to accelerate shipments of high-tech weaponry to Ukraine before an expected spring offensive to retake territory seized by Russia.

Scholz Responds to Putin in Strasbourg (10:40 a.m.)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz used a visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to respond to Putin, saying the EU’s “peaceful path” represented a “clear contrast to the saber-rattling parade that we see in Moscow today.”

“The Russian aggression against Ukraine is also an attack on the values and principles that have guided us since the founding of the EU,” Scholz told reporters after talks with Parliament President Roberta Metsola. “Together we will support Ukraine as long as it is necessary,” he said, before heading into the chamber for a debate with lawmakers.

Russia Says US Isn’t Engaging on Jailed Reporter (10:30 a.m.)

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused the US of rejecting dialog over the case of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, state news service Tass reported. The Biden administration is using only tactics of pressure to try and secure Gershkovich’s release, Ryabkov said.

Gershkovich is being held in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison on allegations of espionage after he was arrested in March in the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia’s Urals region. He’s the first American reporter to be detained on accusations of spying since the Cold War, a charge that carries a 20-year maximum prison term in Russia. He denies the allegations.

EU Seeking More Details on China Peace Drive (10 a.m.)

The EU is still trying to get more information from Beijing on its recently announced peace delegation to Ukraine and other unspecified countries, the bloc’s top envoy in China said Tuesday.

“We are trying to talk to the Chinese government about where they are sending a special envoy and what are their intentions,” EU Ambassador Jorge Toledo said at a press conference in Beijing to mark Europe Day. “But we still have no news.” China announced late last month it would send a delegation to Ukraine and other countries led by Li Hui, who was Beijing’s ambassador to Moscow for 10 years.

Putin Seeks to Cement Support for War (10 a.m.)

“A real war has once again been unleashed against our Motherland,” Putin said in a brief speech at the start of Tuesday’s parade.

Seeking to cement public support for his attack on Ukraine, he claimed troops at the front have the fate of Russia in their hands. The display of military equipment this year was considerably smaller than in the past, with only one tank — a WWII vintage T-34 — and no flyover by warplanes and helicopters.

Von der Leyen in Kyiv to Meet Zelenskiy (9 a.m.)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Von der Leyen said in a tweet that it was a fitting place to celebrate Europe Day and “where the values we hold dear are defended everyday.”

Zelenskiy Discusses De-Mining Ukraine (10 p.m.)

Zelenskiy held meetings Monday with his officials to discuss how to deal with mines and unexploded ordnance which he said affects “more than 170,000 square kilometers” of Ukrainian territory.

“They say it will take decades to deal with such a threat,” the Ukrainian leader said in his evening address. “We have to do it much faster,” he added, saying Ukraine will “cooperate with everyone in the world who has the experience, who has the technology, who has the financial capacity to support us to make Ukraine clear of Russian mines again.”