Russia plans three-day ceasefire for WWII holiday

Russia plans a 72-hour ceasefire in its war with Ukraine next week, President Vladimir Putin announced Monday. The pause would run May 8-10 to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, the day Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies, ending the conflict in World War II’s European theater. Moscow recognizes V-E Day as a major national holiday with a ceremonial military parade in Red Square with millions in attendance, according to travel outlet Express to Russia. The latest temporary ceasefire came days after U.S. President Donald Trump slammed Putin for what he characterized as unnecessary attacks on Ukraine. Referring to the Russian president by his first name, Trump wrote that Vladimir needs to stop the attacks and agree to a peace deal.

Does Ukraine plan to honor the ceasefire? It is unclear whether Ukraine plans to honor the three-day pause called by Russia. If Moscow truly wants peace, it should call a ceasefire now instead of waiting a week, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on Monday. Ukraine has repeatedly proposed a ceasefire of 30 days or more, Sybiha added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of breaking its last truce, which was called to mark the observation of Easter about a week before Putin’s announcement.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report about the latest peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.