The pride and patriotism usually associated with Russia's most important holiday is mixed with apprehension and unease over what this year's Victory Day may bring.
Ukraine is one of the world's biggest producers of wheat, corn and sunflower oil. Officials say 30% of farmland is now occupied or unsafe. "My fields were destroyed by the shelling," one farmer says.
The final battle for Mariupol is taking place inside the Azovstal steel plant, a massive coastal complex in the besieged city. Hundreds of civilians are still trapped inside, officials say.
"Like the apocalypse, like a horror film," is how one evacuee describes weeks of sheltering in the vast, Soviet-era steel plant. Her daughter says, "Each day felt like it would be our last one alive."
The EU chief concedes that that getting all 27 member countries — some of them highly dependent on Russia for energy supplies — to agree on oil sanctions will be extremely difficult.