Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in May in the war with Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War II.
The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run on May 8, May 9 – when Putin will host international leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping for lavish celebrations to commemorate victory over Nazi Germany – and May 10.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha responded: “If Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately. Why wait until May 8th?”
A ceasefire should be “real, not just for a parade,” he posted on X.
The White House said President Donald Trump wanted a permanent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
“While President Trump welcomes Vladimir Putin’s willingness to pause the conflict, it is obvious that he wants a permanent ceasefire and to bring this conflict to a peaceful resolution,” said National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes.
Against increasing U.S. impatience, Putin’s move appeared to signal that Russia is still interested in peace, which Ukraine and its European allies dispute.
“All military actions are suspended for this period. Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” the Kremlin said in a statement on the May 8-10 ceasefire.
“In the event of violations by the Ukrainian side, Russia’s armed forces will give an adequate and effective response.”
It was Putin’s second unilateral truce announcement in quick succession, following a 30-hour Easter ceasefire that each side accused the other of violating countless times.
It came after Trump criticised Putin for a deadly Russian attack on Kyiv last week and voiced concern at the weekend that Putin was “just tapping me along”. Washington has repeatedly threatened to abandon its peace efforts without real progress.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who met Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ Rome funeral on Saturday, said Kyiv would be ready to hold talks with Moscow once a ceasefire deal has stopped the fighting.
Ukraine’s Sybiha said Kyiv had been “constantly proposing” a ceasefire for at least 30 days. Russia has said it wants a full settlement, not a pause.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said Ukraine wanted to finalise a minerals deal with the U.S. as soon as possible.
The Kremlin statement said: “The Russian side once again declares its readiness for peace talks without preconditions, aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, and constructive interaction with international partners.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier that Ukraine should signal the need for direct talks, as it currently has a “legal ban” on negotiating with Putin.
He was referring to a 2022 decree in which Zelenskiy ruled out such negotiations, after Russia had claimed four Ukrainian regions as its own in an action condemned as illegal by most countries at the United Nations.
Ukraine accuses Russia of playing for time to try to seize more of its territory, and has urged greater international pressure to get Moscow to stop fighting.
Russia accuses Ukraine of being unwilling to make any concessions and of seeking a ceasefire only on its terms.
Trump on Sunday urged Russia to stop its attacks in Ukraine and suggested Zelenskiy was ready to give up Crimea, which Russia seized from it in 2014.
Zelenskiy said earlier this month that doing so would violate Ukraine’s constitution. Kyiv has not commented on Trump’s comments on Crimea on Sunday.
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