Ukrainian military expert and former commander of the “Aidar“ battalion Yevgeny Dikiy said that Vladimir Putin outplayed Ukraine tactically by declaring a 3-day truce (from midnight on May 7/8 to midnight on May 10/11) on the occasion of the victory over Nazi Germany.
Dikiy said that this decision is in favor only of Moscow and puts Kiev in an awkward position. The reason is that if Ukraine violates the truce, the Kremlin and Donald Trump will immediately declare that the Ukrainians do not want peace.
The Russians will have a peaceful parade on May 9, Dikiy said. “Knowing the work of their air defense, it was not guaranteed that the Ukrainian Air Force would not participate in this parade. Everyone can imagine what a slap this would be to the entire structure that Putin and Russian propaganda have been building for decades“, said the military analyst.
He explained that under the current conditions on the international arena, Ukraine could not reject this ceasefire. “And Putin's main ally, who is now in the White House, would immediately start shouting that we want the war to continue. So here we were outplayed tactically, but this does not fundamentally affect the course of the war. Ultimately, the course of the war is determined at the front,“ added Dikiy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last night that the world does not want to wait until May 8 for the ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the more than three-year war in Ukraine, only to have it in effect for only a few days.
“For some reason, everyone has to wait until May 8 and only then have a ceasefire that would provide Putin with peace of mind during the parade,“ Zelensky said during his video address to the nation last night. “We value people's lives, not parades. We think the world believes that there is no reason to wait until May 8. The ceasefire should not last for a few days, only to resume the killings, he added, quoted by BTA.
The Ukrainian president called for a “full and unconditional ceasefire for at least 30 days“, which would provide “a basis for real diplomacy“.
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.
She told reporters that the US leader is increasingly disappointed with Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, and according to her, the two should sit down at the negotiating table and agree on an end to the conflict.
Levitt noted that Putin is proposed a temporary ceasefire, but added that the US president had been very clear that he wanted a permanent ceasefire.