Russia and Ukraine declare competing ceasefires

Moscow’s declaration of a May 9 truce for its WWII parade comes as Kyiv revels in its adversary’s ‘fear’ of its drones.Russia and Ukraine have declared competing unilateral ceasefires in their four-year war.Russia announced on Monday that its ceasefire would be between May 8-9, when it traditionally marks Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War (as it calls World War II) with a major military parade in Moscow. Kyiv said later that it was calling its own ceasefire for May 5-6.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4How to escape Russia’s army: Soldiers serving in Ukraine seek a way outlist 2 of 4NATO chief says Europeans have ‘gotten the message’ from Trump on defencelist 3 of 4What is the Ukrainian anti-drone system Sky Map being used in the Gulf?list 4 of 4Russian strikes kill at least eight in Ukraine, drones hit Moscowend of list“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,” the Russian Ministry of Defence said in a post on the state-backed messaging app MAX. “We hope that the Ukrainian side will follow suit.”Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said shortly afterwards that he had received no official notice from Russia, and that Ukraine would observe a separate ceasefire beginning at midnight on Tuesday, May 5.“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,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.“In this regard, we are announcing a ceasefire regime starting at 00:00 (2100 GMT) 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 president also stated that “human life is incomparably more valuable than the ‘celebration’ of any anniversary,” adding: “It is time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war.”Warning to Kyiv; Moscow’s ‘fear’Putin first suggested a ceasefire last week, during a phone call with Donald Trump.