The Kremlin announced on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a surprise three-day ceasefire in Ukraine from May 8th to 10th, coinciding with Moscow’s commemorations of its World War II Victory Day.
Moscow stated that it expects Kyiv to issue a similar order and affirmed its readiness to respond to any breaches of the potential cessation of hostilities.
Putin had previously issued a similar order to halt combat over Easter – a truce that both sides accused each other of violating numerous times, although it did result in a temporary decrease in fighting.
“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.
“Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example. In the event of violations of the truce by the Ukrainian side, the Russian armed forces will give an adequate and effective response,” it added.
Last month, Putin rejected a US proposal for a comprehensive and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, which had been accepted by Ukraine.
Kyiv and its European allies accused Putin of announcing the 30-hour Easter truce as a public relations maneuver and asserted that he had little genuine desire for peace.
Since launching its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has seized significant portions of four Ukrainian regions and declared them as its own territory, in addition to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
‘Leading Me On’
Putin’s ceasefire order comes at the start of what the United States indicated would be a critical week for the prospects of a ceasefire that could influence how long Washington continues to attempt to broker a resolution.
Following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, Donald Trump questioned the sincerity of the Russian leader’s interest in peace.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn´t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along,” Trump stated on Truth Social.
Russian missiles have killed dozens of civilians in the past month during large-scale strikes on Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rig, the northeastern city of Sumy, and the capital Kyiv.
Earlier on Monday, Russia had expressed its readiness for direct negotiations with Ukraine but emphasized that the recognition of its claims over five Ukrainian regions, including Crimea, was “imperative” for resolving the conflict.
Ukraine has condemned the annexations as illegal land grabs and insists it will never recognize them, while European officials have cautioned that accepting Moscow’s demands would establish a dangerous precedent that could lead to further Russian aggression.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an interview with the Brazilian newspaper O Globo published on Monday, said, “We remain open to negotiations.”
“But the ball is not in our court. So far, Kyiv has not demonstrated its ability to negotiate,” he stated, adding that Moscow’s position on the conflict was “well-known.”
“International recognition of Russia’s ownership of Crimea, Sevastopol, the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is imperative,” he said, using the Kremlin’s nomenclature for the Ukrainian territories.
Zelensky stated last Friday that Ukraine would “not legally recognise any temporarily occupied territories” and has previously described the demilitarisation demand as “incomprehensible.”
Kursk Retaken
Trump, who boasted before his inauguration that he could halt Russia’s assault on Ukraine within “24 hours,” initiated a diplomatic push to stop the fighting after assuming office in January.
However, the White House has expressed frustration with both sides as the conflict, which has devastated large areas of eastern Ukraine and resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, continues to drag on.
Russia and Ukraine have not engaged in direct talks regarding the fighting since the beginning of Moscow’s offensive in 2022.
Early Monday, a Russian attack on a Ukrainian village near the frontline city of Pokrovsk resulted in the deaths of a married couple and another local resident, according to regional prosecutors.
Meanwhile, Russia announced over the weekend that it had gained full control of its Kursk region with the assistance of North Korean troops, more than eight months after Kyiv launched a cross-border ground assault.
Putin thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday for his help with the operation, which has deprived Kyiv of a key bargaining chip in future negotiations with Moscow.
The Russian army reported on Monday that it had seized control of the village of Kamianka in the northeastern Kharkiv region, marking its latest advance on the battlefield
