Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has ordered a surprise 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the Second World War ending and has urged Kyiv to follow suit.
‘Based on humanitarian considerations, the Russian side is declaring a truce during the 80th anniversary of Victory Day,’ the Kremlin announced on Monday, claiming from May 8 through May 10 ‘all hostilities’ would be stopped.
‘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.
The Kremlin announced a similar, 30-hour truce during Easter but while both sides reported a dip in fighting, they accused each other of hundreds of violations.
Putin’s announcement came after US President Donald Trump urged him to ‘stop shooting’ and ‘sign a deal’ to conclude the three-year conflict, which the White House is seeking to end through diplomatic means.
The US has been trying to broker a lasting ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated negotiations between his administration and Russian officials.
Mr Trump is seeking a permanent ceasefire in Ukraine, his spokeswoman said on Monday, indicating the President did not see Putin’s three-day pause as satisfactory.
Ukraine and Russia targeted each other with long-range strikes overnight. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces downed 119 Ukrainian drones, most of them over Russia’s Bryansk border region.
