Putin declares 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark WWII Victory Day

Kyiv, April 28: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire next week in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in World War II as the US presses for a deal to end the three-year-old war. Kyiv insisted on a longer and immediate truce.
The Kremlin said the truce, ordered on “humanitarian grounds,” will run from the start of May 8 (2100 GMT, 5 pm EDT May 7) and last through the end of May 10 (2100 GMT, 5 pm EDT May 10) to mark Moscow’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 – Russia’s biggest secular holiday.
Ukraine, which has previously agreed to US President Donald Trump’s proposal of a full 30-day ceasefire, dismissed Putin’s move as window dressing.
“If Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, according to the ministry. He emphasised that Kyiv is ready for a “lasting, reliable, and complete ceasefire” for at least 30 full days.
“Why wait for May 8? If we can cease fire now from any date and for 30 days – so that it is real, and not just for a parade,” he said without specifying whether Ukraine would be ready to accept the Moscow-proposed truce.
The Kremlin had urged Ukraine to follow suit.
“Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” it said, warning that “in case of violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the Russian armed forces will give an adequate and efficient response.” Putin previously announced a unilateral 30-hour Easter ceasefire and Ukraine voiced readiness to reciprocate any genuine truce at the time, but it said Russian attacks continued. Moscow, in turn, accused Ukraine of failing to halt its attacks.
Russia and Ukraine had also earlier pledged to observe a 30-day halt on strikes on energy infrastructure that was brokered by the Trump administration, but they repeatedly accused each other of massive violations until the measure expired.
Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea on Monday for fighting alongside his troops against Ukrainian forces and promised not to forget their sacrifices, hours after North Korea confirmed its deployment for the first time.
The back-to-back Russian and North Korean statements — which illustrate their expanding military partnerships — came two days after Russia said its troops have fully reclaimed the Kursk region that Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise incursion last year.
Ukrainian officials have denied the claim, insisting that the operation in certain areas of Kursk is continuing.
In a statement posted on the website of the Kremlin, Putin praised North Korean soldiers who he said “shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their own.” (Agencies)