MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in May in the war with Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two.
The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run on May 8, May 9 - when Putin will host international leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping for lavish celebrations to commemorate victory over Nazi Germany - and May 10.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, in response, said: “If Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately. Why wait until May 8th?”
A ceasefire should be “real, not just for a parade,” he posted on X.
The White House said President Donald Trump wanted a permanent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Against a background of increasing U.S. impatience, Putin’s move appeared aimed at signaling that Russia is still interested in peace - something that Ukraine and its European allies dispute.
“All military actions are suspended for this period. Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” the Kremlin said in a statement on the May 8-10 ceasefire.
“In the event of violations by the Ukrainian side, Russia’s armed forces will give an adequate and effective response.”
It was the second unilateral truce announcement that Putin has made in quick succession, following a 30-hour Easter ceasefire that each side accused the other of violating countless times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome on Saturday, has said Kyiv would be ready to hold talks with Moscow once a ceasefire deal has stopped the fighting.
Ukraine’s Sybiha said Kyiv had been “constantly proposing” a ceasefire for at least 30 days. Russia has said it wants a full settlement, not a pause.
The Kremlin statement said: “The Russian side once again declares its readiness for peace talks without preconditions, aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, and constructive interaction with international partners.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier that the signal for direct talks should come from Ukraine, as it currently had a “legal ban” on negotiating with Putin.
He was referring to a 2022 decree in which Zelensky ruled out such negotiations, after Russia had claimed four Ukrainian regions as its own in an action condemned as illegal by most countries at the United Nations.