Zelenskyy declares unilateral truce ahead of Putin
Kyiv, UKRAINE—Ukraine piled pressure on Russia on Tuesday after announcing its own truce in response to Russia’s demand for a ceasefire to coincide with its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that holding a ceasefire between May 8 and May 9 so Moscow could mark the celebration was “not serious,” and hit back with his own truce starting midnight (2100 GMT) on Tuesday.
Russia has threatened a “massive missile strike” on Kyiv if Ukraine violates its Victory Day ceasefire.
The quarreling between the two sides comes with a lull in US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war, as Washington shifts its focus to conflict in the Middle East.
Russian strikes killed nine people across Ukraine on Monday, according to Ukrainian officials, while a Ukrainian drone crashed into a high-rise building in an upscale Moscow neighborhood overnight.
“In accordance with a decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin, a ceasefire has been declared from May 8–9, 2026… We hope that the Ukrainian side will follow suit,” the Russian defense ministry said in a post on state-backed messaging service MAX.
“If the Kyiv regime attempts to implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Russian Armed Forces will launch a retaliatory, massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv,” it added.
“We warn the civilian population of Kyiv and employees of foreign diplomatic missions of the need to leave the city promptly.”
Victory Day
Russia marks World War II Victory Day each year with a massive military parade through Red Square.
“As of today, there has been no official appeal to Ukraine regarding the modality of a cessation of hostilities that is being claimed on Russian social media,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
“We believe that human life is far more valuable than any anniversary ‘celebration.’ In this regard, we are announcing a ceasefire regime starting at 00:00 (2100 GMT) on the night of May 5–6,” he added.
He did not specify how long the ceasefire would last.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga also condemned Moscow’s truce, saying: “Peace cannot wait until ‘parades’ and ‘celebrations.’”
“If Moscow is prepared to end hostilities, it can do so already tomorrow night,” Sybiga posted on X on Monday.
‘Serious proposal’
He said Zelenskyy’s truce was a “serious proposal to end the war and turn to diplomacy.”
The Ukrainian leader later landed in the Gulf nation of Bahrain for talks on “security cooperation,” a source in the Ukrainian delegation told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least nine people on Monday, according to Ukrainian officials.
A Russian ballistic missile attack on the town of Merefa — outside Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv—killed seven civilians and wounded dozens earlier Monday, regional authorities said.
