Russian President Vladimir Putin today announced a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine next month for the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War II, world agencies reported, quoted by BTA.
The Kremlin announced that the 72-hour ceasefire will be in effect from midnight on May 7/8 to midnight on May 10/11 and called on Ukraine to also observe it.
The Kremlin press service statement said that in case of violations by the Ukrainian side, the Russian armed forces would give an “adequate and effective response“.
The Kremlin announced a similar 30-hour ceasefire for Easter, but although both sides then announced to reduce the fighting, they also exchanged accusations of hundreds of ceasefire violations, AFP recalls.
US President Donald Trump wants a permanent ceasefire that ends the war between Russia and Ukraine, not just a temporary truce, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said, quoted by Reuters, writes BTA.
She told reporters that the American leader was increasingly disappointed with Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, and according to her, the two should sit down at the negotiating table and negotiate an end to the conflict.
Levitt noted that Putin had proposed a temporary ceasefire earlier today, but added that the US president had been very clear that he wanted a permanent ceasefire.
So far, Putin has refused to accept the proposal for a complete and unconditional ceasefire and linked it to a halt to Western arms supplies to Ukraine and to Ukrainian mobilization efforts, the Associated Press reported.
The announcement comes as Ukraine and Russia have traded blows. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 119 Ukrainian drones last night, most of them over Russia's Bryansk region. In Ukraine, air raid sirens sounded in many parts of the country this morning. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
It is unclear how the efforts of the administration of US President Donald Trump to quickly end the war will end, as they have been marred by conflicting claims and doubts about the extent to which each side is willing to compromise amid significant hostility and mistrust.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that this week would be “very critical” and that, he said, America must “decide whether this is an endeavor we want to continue to be involved in“.
Trump said over the weekend that he had doubts about Putin's sincerity amid Russian forces' strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine as talks continued.
But he said on Friday that an agreement to settle the war “is close“.