Putin’s subdued parade

Absent tanks underscore Putin’s failures on the battlefield [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( President Vladimir Putin held his second Victory Day parade in Moscow since ordering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with no sign he’s near to achieving one in this war. The May 9 military procession on Red Square marks the Soviet Union’s World War II defeat of Nazi Germany at the cost of 27 million lives, a day of pride and solemn remembrance. Key Reading: - [Putin Vows Victory in Ukraine at Scaled-Back Red Square Parade]( - [European Spies Piece Together Strategy Behind Russian Abuses]( - [Russian Pro-War Writer Prilepin Injured in Car Bombing]( - [McConnell Predicts Congress Will Keep Funding Ukraine’s Defense]( - [Ukraine Should Get Concrete Path to Join NATO, Estonia Says]( - Follow our [rolling coverage]( of the Ukraine war. Putin used the occasion to claim “a real war has been unleashed against our Motherland again” in another attempt to stoke patriotic support for the assault on Ukraine. The problem for Putin is the gap between rhetoric and reality in his efforts to wrap the present in the feats of the past that were also shared by Ukraine. The parade celebrating the defeat of Nazi invaders is used now to defend Russian aggression — earlier in the day, Russia unleashed another wave of missile attacks on Ukraine. It’s Russia that’s attempting to destroy Ukraine, by seeking to erase Ukrainian identity in areas of the country Putin’s troops now occupy. He continued to argue that Ukrainians are “hostage” to the West despite their fierce resistance to his invasion for more than 14 months. Instead of a confident projection of power, the military display in Moscow this year included just one tank — a vintage World War II-era T-34. There was no flyover by warplanes and helicopters despite fine weather. Security concerns over sabotage attacks after two drones were downed at the Kremlin last week prompted nearly two dozen Russian regions to cancel planned parades and fireworks. It all took place just as Ukraine is poised to launch a long-awaited counteroffensive aiming to drive Russian forces out of occupied territory that Putin has declared to be “forever” part of Russia. He ended his speech today with an appeal “for victory” in Ukraine. Failure to deliver would be hard for Putin to explain next May 9. Putin watches the Victory Day parade in Moscow’s Red Square. White House reporter [Josh Wingrove]( wrapped up [the latest on the US debt negotiations]( in the Washington Edition newsletter. [Sign up now]( to get it in your inbox every weekday. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines A debt-limit rescue won’t come from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who warned President Joe Biden that he has no plans to break a partisan deadlock as a [catastrophic US default]( looms. In an interview with [Steven T. Dennis](, McConnell said he told Biden privately it was up to him and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to find a solution, even as he projected confidence the nation would avert a default. - McConnell also said he won’t simply [back candidates]( aligned with former President Donald Trump ahead of next year’s elections after several of them flopped and cost Republicans a Senate majority in 2022. China ordered a Canadian diplomat to [leave]( the country in a “reciprocal countermeasure” to Canada’s “unreasonable behavior,” saying that it reserved the right to take further steps in response. The tit-for-tat move came hours after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government expelled a Chinese envoy following a report that the diplomat was looking into penalizing a Canadian lawmaker with relatives in Hong Kong for taking hardline positions against Beijing. - China has launched a nationwide anti-espionage [crackdown]( on consulting firms, according to state media, accusing one global company of leaking state secrets and having ties with foreign intelligence agencies. China’s export growth slowed in April while [imports plummeted](, adding to pressures on an economic recovery that’s already been called into question. Overseas shipments expanded 8.5% from a year earlier to $295 billion, the customs administration said, although economists warned the strong trend won’t last. Imports dropped 7.9% to $205 billion, much more than expected. British workers are poised to take a bigger [hit to living standards]( than their peers in other Group of Seven developed economies, with wages adjusted for price growth expected to fall by more than 3% this year, according to the Office for National Statistics. Workers are pushing back with a massive wave of labor strikes as utility and grocery bills rise faster than the 10.1% headline inflation number. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Putin’s Victory Day Brings Evidence of Defeat: Leonid Bershidsky]( - [Let the Debt-Ceiling Game of Chicken Begin: John Authers]( - [Gender Neutral Dressing Is Slowly Coming of Age: Leticia Miranda]( Turkey’s main opposition leader accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government of [covering up]( the true state of the economy and the country’s finances before Sunday’s closely contested election. Kemal Kilicdaroglu suggested official economic data is untrustworthy and called for a probe into Turkey’s stock exchange that he said in an interview had been turned “into a robbery tool.” Explainers You Can Use - [The Gulf of Mexico Has a $30 Billion Oil Well Problem]( - [Why the US Treasury Will Start to Buy Back Its Bonds]( - [Flooding in Africa’s Great Lakes Region Claims Hundreds of Lives]( Wildfires raging across western Canada forced the evacuation of 30,000 residents and cut at least 234,000 barrels a day of oil and gas production as companies shut down wells and pipelines. The province of Alberta declared a [state of emergency](, and evacuation orders were issued as 100 fires blazed yesterday, with about a quarter classified as out of control in Canada’s main gas-producing region. The Big Take podcast looks at why Turkey’s election matters not just for its domestic future – but for the important role the nation plays on the world stage. Listen [here](, on [Apple]( and [Spotify](. News to Note - Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has [been detained]( from the Islamabad High Court, his party said, a development that threatens to escalate the cash-strapped nation’s political crisis. - Democratic Party members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow to lay out in detail [any gifts or payments]( made to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his family, as a battle over the high court’s ethics intensifies. - China is [at an impasse]( in terms of restructuring debts owed to it by developing nations in distress, despite additional World Bank lending to them, the anti-poverty lender’s chief said yesterday. - Thai politicians are trying to outdo each other ahead of a May 14 general election, promising voters billions of dollars [worth of relief and freebies]( that offer near-term benefits but may damage the economy in the long run. - Mexico’s Supreme Court annulled part of a reform of the country’s electoral rules sponsored by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador [in a setback]( for the Latin American leader who has sought to overhaul the national election regulator before his term ends in 2024. And finally ... Kamala Harris, the first woman, Black and Asian US vice president, has a key role to play in energizing African-Americans to turn out next year for Biden as they did in 2020 when exit polls showed him carrying 87% of their votes. [Akayla Gardner]( writes that her contribution could be vital, with recent surveys showing an [erosion in their enthusiasm]( 18 months before the election. Harris speaks at Howard University in Washington on April 25. Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Politics newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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