Vladimir Putin has announced another ceasefire in Ukraine just weeks after the Easter farce. The Russian leader today declared a unilateral ceasefire in the war to cover the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two. It will start from May 8 and will last three days. He has challenged Ukraine to do the same.
“By decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, based on humanitarian considerations, during the days of the 80th anniversary of the Victory – from midnight on May 7-8 to midnight on May 10-11, the Russian side declares a ceasefire,” said a Kremlin announcement.
“All military actions are suspended for this period. Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example.
“In case of violation of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will provide an adequate and effective response.
“The Russian side once again declares its readiness for peace negotiations without preconditions, aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, and constructive interaction with international partners.”
It comes as Donald Trump’s scaled up efforts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine. Until that moment, Putin had refused to accept a complete unconditional ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies to Ukraine and Ukraine’s mobilisation effort. Ukraine has not yet responded. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that this week would be “very critical.” The U.S. needs to “make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Putin earlier announced a unilateral ceasefire on attacks on energy infrastructure – which he broke. Putin bombarded Ukraine with missiles even after pledging a break in fighting over Easter.
The Russian leader stepped up aggressive attacks on Ukraine on Easter Monday after flouting his own 30-hour ceasefire almost 3,000 times.
Russia struck Sumy and Kharkiv border regions with aerial bombs soon after the midnight end of his so-called truce, with explosions also reported in Mykolaiv, Kherson, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Volodymyr Zelensky had accused Putin of making a mockery of his own ‘truce’ by repeated attacks on Ukraine with assaults, FTP drone incursions and firing on its territory, including with heavy weapons, amounting to 2,839 incidents.
In one, near Kostyantynivka, footage shows a humanitarian excavation car was hit by a Russian drone. The car was first attacked by a drone with a shrapnel charge, then two FPV drones aimed at the people, including a married couple being evacuated.
“Such is the Easter truce,” said humanitarian worker Yevhen Tkachev, who was wounded, according to Radio Liberty.
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