Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a surprise three-day ceasefire from May 8 to 10 to mark Moscow’s Victory Day commemorations, the Kremlin said on Monday.
The Kremlin urged Kyiv to issue a corresponding ceasefire order and warned that Russia would “adequately and effectively” respond to any violations during the truce.
“The Russian side is declaring a ceasefire during the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, from midnight on May 7-8 to midnight on May 10-11. All combat operations will be suspended during this period,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The move echoes Putin’s Easter truce declaration last month, which both sides accused each other of breaching despite a temporary reduction in fighting.
Putin previously rejected a US-backed proposal for a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, a plan that Ukraine had accepted. Western leaders have expressed skepticism over Moscow’s latest ceasefire gesture, accusing Putin of using brief halts in fighting as public relations tactics rather than genuine steps toward peace.
Following the Kremlin’s announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky faced calls from Moscow to mirror the ceasefire. However, trust remains low after weeks of heavy Russian missile strikes on civilian areas, including Kryvyi Rig, Sumy, and Kyiv, which killed dozens of civilians.
Over the weekend, former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking after meeting Zelensky at Pope Francis’s funeral, expressed doubts over Putin’s intentions. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas… It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Russia reiterated its demand for international recognition of its claims over Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia as a condition for any lasting peace deal. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Moscow remains open to negotiations but insisted “the ball is not in our court” and accused Kyiv of lacking readiness to talk.
Ukraine, however, has firmly rejected the annexations as illegal and vowed never to recognize them. Zelensky reaffirmed last Friday that Ukraine would “not legally recognize any temporarily occupied territories.”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced that Russian forces, with the assistance of North Korean troops, have secured full control of Russia’s Kursk region following months of cross-border battles. Putin personally thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for his support in the operation, which analysts say may shift bargaining dynamics in future talks.
In another development, Russian forces claimed the capture of the village of Kamianka in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, signaling continued advances on the battlefield despite ceasefire announcements.
Direct talks between Russia and Ukraine have not taken place since the war erupted in February 2022, with ongoing fighting continuing to devastate eastern Ukraine and claim tens of thousands of lives.
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