MOSCOW, May 4 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a two-day ceasefire in the conflict with Ukraine on May 8-9 to mark Russia’s World War Two victory anniversary, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy countered with his own proposed pause in fighting starting earlier, on the night of May 5‑6.
Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement on Monday that Moscow expected Ukraine to follow the May 8‑9 truce and that Russian forces would take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany.
It warned, however, that any attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the celebrations would prompt retaliation.
“In the event of attempts by the Kyiv regime to implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will launch a retaliatory, massive missile attack on the centre of Kyiv,” it said.
Russia it said, had been in position to launch such an attack before but had “previously refrained from such actions on humanitarian grounds.
“We are warning the civilian population of Kyiv and staff at foreign diplomatic missions of the need to leave the city in a timely manner,” it said.
Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram after attending a European Political Community summit in Armenia, said Ukraine would observe its own ceasefire beginning at midnight on the night of Tuesday, May 5.
He said Russia had failed to respond to Kyiv’s longstanding calls for a lasting ceasefire, adding that Ukraine was acting because “human life is incomparably more valuable than the ‘celebration’ of any anniversary”.
“In this regard, we announce a regime of silence starting from 00.00 on the night of May 5 to May 6,” he wrote.
Zelenskiy gave no timeframe for the ceasefire but said Ukraine would “act symmetrically from the specified moment.”
Speaking earlier, Zelenskiy dismissed Russia’s proposed truce, the details of which were unclear at the time, as “not serious.”
Russia celebrates victory in World War Two on May 9, the day the Soviet Union signed Germany’s surrender in 1945. It traditionally holds a military parade, but says this year’s commemoration would feature no military hardware because of the threat of increased Ukrainian “terrorist” activity.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Susan Fenton; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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