Russia announced on Monday a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine on May 8-9 for World War II victory commemorations, while threatening to launch a "massive missile strike" on kyiv if Ukraine violated it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted by declaring a different truce on Wednesday.
Published on: 05/04/2026 - 8:13 p.m. Modified on: 05/05/2026 - 10:40 a.m.
A truce, but each on his own. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Monday (May 4) a two-day ceasefire in the conflict with Ukraine to mark May 9, the anniversary of the former Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Ukraine responded by declaring its own truce starting Wednesday.
The announcements come at a time when the United States is refocusing its attention on the Middle East conflict after its efforts to end the war in Ukraine, sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in 2022.
“In accordance with a decision of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, (President) Vladimir Putin, a ceasefire has been declared from May 8 to 9, 2026,” the Russian government said in a message published on MAX, a state-backed messaging application.
“If the kyiv regime attempts to implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebrations of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Russian armed forces will launch a massive retaliatory missile strike on the center of kyiv,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement also broadcast on MAX. “We warn the civilian population of kyiv and employees of foreign diplomatic missions of the need to leave the city without delay,” he added without further explanation.
Russia commemorates Soviet Victory Day against Nazi Germany in 1945 each year by holding a massive military parade on Red Square in Moscow.
“No official request”
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that he had received "no official request" regarding such a truce. “We are announcing a ceasefire regime from 00:00 on the night of May 5 to 6,” he added. “We will act reciprocally from then on.”
Read alsoAfter 1,500 days of war, Ukraine suffers but scores points against Russia
The Ukrainian president then landed in Bahrain for discussions on "security cooperation" with this Gulf country, a source within the Ukrainian delegation told AFP.
On Monday, a Russian missile strike claimed the lives of seven civilians in the town of Merefa, located near Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, and a drone attack caused the death of a couple in a southern town, according to Ukrainian authorities.
An AFP journalist saw bodies lying in the street in Merefa, covered with blankets and white sheets, as well as gutted shops and houses and damaged cars. A woman, whose loved one was killed in a car, caressed his body through the vehicle window, head down.
According to preliminary information, the attack was carried out using an Iskander-type ballistic missile, the regional prosecutor's office said.
Ukraine has been fighting for more than four years against the large-scale Russian invasion and the Kharkiv region, bordering Russia, is very regularly targeted by Russian attacks. A significant part of this territory had been occupied by the Russian army at the start of the war, then largely recaptured by Ukrainian forces.
The area controlled by Russians in Ukraine shrank by some 120 km2 in April, which had not happened since the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer of 2023, according to AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, left hundreds of thousands dead on both sides.
With AFP
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