Russia on Monday declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine between May 8-9, when Moscow holds its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations, 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.
“In accordance with a decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin, a ceasefire has been declared from May 8–9, 2026… We hope that the Ukrainian side will follow suit,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram post.
“If the Kyiv regime attempts to implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War [World War II], the Russian Armed Forces will launch a retaliatory, massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv,” it added.
“We warn the civilian population of Kyiv and employees of foreign diplomatic missions of the need to leave the city promptly.”
The competing ceasefires between the two sides come amid a lull in U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the war, as Washington shifts its focus to the conflict in the Middle East.
Russia marks World War II Victory Day each year with a large military parade in Red Square.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky 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.”
“As of today, there has been no official appeal to Ukraine regarding the modality of a cessation of hostilities that is being claimed on Russian social media,” Zelensky said in a post on X.
“In this regard, we are announcing a ceasefire regime starting at 00:00 on the night of May 5-6. In the time left until that moment, it is realistic to ensure that silence takes effect,” he added.
The Ukrainian leader later landed in the Gulf nation of Bahrain for talks on “security cooperation,” a source in the Ukrainian delegation told AFP.
