Russia said it will declare a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine from May 8-9 for its Victory Day celebrations, while Ukraine said it will have its own ceasefire, calling Russia’s proposal “not serious.”
KYIV: Russia on Monday declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine between May 8-9, when Moscow marks its annual World War II Victory Day, and threatened a "massive missile strike" on Kyiv if Ukraine violated it. Ukraine responded by declaring a truce of its own between May 5-6, saying it was "not serious" to expect it to observe a ceasefire during a Russian military holiday. The quarrelling 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, while a Ukrainian drone crashed into a high-rise building in an upscale Moscow neighbourhood overnight.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that having a ceasefire so Moscow could mark the celebration was "not serious," and that Russia was afraid Ukrainian drones would "buzz over Red Square." Zelenskyy announced a ceasefire regime starting at midnight May 5-6, adding that it's realistic to ensure silence takes effect. The Ukrainian leader later landed in Bahrain for talks on security cooperation. Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least nine people on Monday, including seven in a ballistic missile attack on Merefa and two in Vilnyansk. In Russia, a Ukrainian drone killed a civilian in Belgorod and hit a residential high-rise in Moscow.