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Key Points
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a unilateral three-day ceasefire in Ukraine next month.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy branded Putin’s announcement as a “new attempt at manipulation”.
- The US says President Donald Trump wants a permanent ceasefire.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a three-day truce in May in Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two.
The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run from 8 to 10 May.
“Based on humanitarian considerations, the Russian side is declaring a truce during the 80th anniversary of Victory Day,” the Kremlin said. It said “all hostilities” would be stopped during that time.
“All military actions are suspended for this period. Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” it said.
“In the event of violations by the Ukrainian side, Russia’s armed forces will give an adequate and effective response.”
Putin’s move appeared aimed at signalling Russia is still interested in peace — something that Ukraine and its European allies dispute — as United States President Donald Trump’s administration .
Zelenskyy calls announcement ‘manipulation tactic’
The proposal has been met with criticism from Ukraine, which is pushing for an immediate truce with Russia for at least 30 days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy branded Putin’s announcement as a “new attempt at manipulation” in his daily address, questioning why the temporary ceasefire would not begin for more than a week.
“If Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately. Why wait until May 8th?” Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
The announcement came after US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov spoke over the weekend.
The White House said Trump wanted a permanent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
US National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said: “While President Trump welcomes Vladimir Putin’s willingness to pause the conflict, the president has been very clear he wants a permanent ceasefire and to bring this conflict to a peaceful resolution.”
It was the second unilateral truce announcement Putin has made in quick succession, following a 30-hour Easter ceasefire that .
It came after Trump criticised Putin for a deadly Russian attack on Ukraine last week.
The US has repeatedly threatened to abandon its peace efforts unless there is real progress.
Zelenskyy, who met Trump on the sidelines of , has said Ukraine would be ready to hold talks with Russia once a ceasefire deal has stopped the fighting. Russia has said it wants a full settlement, not a pause.
The Kremlin said Russia wants direct talks with Ukraine “without preconditions”.
Lavrov, in a written interview with Brazil’s O Globo newspaper on Monday, said as well as ruling out Ukraine’s membership of NATO, a settlement should include “demilitarising and de-Nazifying Ukraine” and international recognition of four regions of Ukraine that Russia has partially occupied since 2022 and claimed as its own.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday the signal for direct talks should come from Ukraine, as it currently has a “legal ban” on negotiating with Putin.
He was referring to a 2022 decree in which Zelenskyy 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 in order to try to seize more of its territory, and has urged greater international pressure to get Russia to stop fighting.
Russia accuses Ukraine of being unwilling to make any concessions and of seeking a ceasefire only on its own terms.
Trump has urged Russia to stop its attacks in Ukraine and suggested Zelenskyy was ready to give up Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.
Zelenskyy said earlier this month that .
Ukraine has not commented on Trump’s comments on Sunday regarding Crimea.
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