Russian President Vladimir Putin has unilaterally announced a temporary ceasefire in the war in Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. Russia annually commemorates the end of World War II in Europe on 9 May, when a large-scale military parade is held on Red Square in Moscow. According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will begin on 8 May at 7am and last until midnight on 11 May, Moscow time.
‘Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,’ the statement reads. ‘In the event of violations of the truce by the Ukrainian side, the Russian armed forces will give an adequate and effective response.’
The three-day ceasefire resembles the one also announced by Putin during Easter, when he declared a 30-hour truce from 19 April to 21 April. That announcement was met with scepticism from Ukraine, accusing Moscow of using such initiatives for boosting its image while systematically breaching them. Both sides alleged the other of violating the Easter ceasefire: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russian forces had violated the truce nearly 3,000 times, including 1,882 instances of shelling and 96 assault operations. Similiarly, Russia’s Defence Ministry accused Ukraine of breaching the ceasefire over 1,000 times, citing 444 attacks on Russian positions and over 900 drone strikes.
Putin’s unilateral declaration of another ceasefire comes amid growing pressure from the Trump administration on both Kyiv and Moscow to strike an agreement to end the war in Ukraine—one of Donald Trump’s top campaign promises. As the first 100 days of his second presidency approach, peace talks appear to have stalled, with no major agreement reached since an energy and maritime ceasefire in early April, which was also reportedly breached by both sides.
Zelenskyy and Trump met on Saturday at the Vatican during the funeral of the late Pope Francis, after which the US president stated that his Ukrainian counterpart was ready to make a peace deal to end the conflict. Trump also criticized Russia for its recent attacks in Ukraine, warning of potential banking or secondary sanctions on Moscow.
Following a meeting with Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff on Friday, Putin also reaffirmed his readiness to negotiate with Kyiv without preconditions.
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