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Ukraine and Russia have announced their intentions to enact separate ceasefires in their four-year war.
Getting into it: Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Monday a unilateral ceasefire from May 8-9 to mark the 81st anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and called on Ukraine to do the same. “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 ministry also threatened to launch a “massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv” if Ukraine attempts to disrupt the Victory Day celebrations and warned civilians and foreign diplomats in Kyiv “of the need to leave the city promptly.”
Russia pointed specifically to comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a European summit in Armenia, where he claimed Russia’s decision to hold a parade without military equipment for the first time in nearly two decades showed the Russians were afraid Ukrainian drones “may buzz over Red Square.”
Ukraine fired back with its own competing ceasefire offer, saying Russia hadn’t actually communicated anything officially with them. Zelenskyy posted on social media that Ukraine would observe its own ceasefire starting at midnight on the night of May 5-6, with no end date attached.
Zelenskyy framed the move as a direct challenge to Putin and dismissed the Russian Victory Day proposal as a stunt designed to protect the parade rather than end the war. “Human life is incomparably more valuable than the ‘celebration’ of any anniversary. It is time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war, especially since Russia’s Defense Ministry believes it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine’s goodwill.”
This all comes as Ukraine has been pushing for a longer 30-day ceasefire and has consistently said short-term truces tied to specific events mostly serve tactical purposes for Russia rather than meaningfully ending the war.
