Russia declares a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine for next week to mark
Victory Day in World War II
[April 29, 2025]
By ILLIA NOVIKOV
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — 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 U.S. presses for a deal to end the 3-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 and last through the end of May 10 to mark
Moscow's defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 — Russia's biggest secular
holiday.
Ukraine, which has previously agreed to U.S. 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
emphasized 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.
The truce attempts underlined the massive challenges for monitoring any
possible halt to hostilities along the more than 1,000-kilometer (over
600-mile) line of contact.
Up until now, Putin had refused to accept a complete unconditional
ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies to Ukraine and
Ukraine’s mobilization effort.
The Kremlin reaffirmed that “the Russian side again declares its
readiness for peace talks without preconditions aimed at removing the
root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and constructive cooperation with
international partners.”
Ukrainians in Kyiv scoffed at Putin's move.
“There is no trust in any of Putin’s proposals," said Nazar Lutsenko, a
lawyer. He added that “we absolutely want the war to end on terms that
are favorable to us, on fair terms.”
A soldier with the 156th Brigade, who identified himself only by his
first name, Kostiantyn, in keeping with military rules, dismissed the
truce as “ridiculous,” adding that perhaps “there will not be such harsh
shelling as there is every evening here, but fighting will be conducted
in one way or another."
Student Oleksandra Serpilova viewed the declaration as “another attempt
to keep America engaged, to give Trump hope that some kind of
negotiations are possible.”
Just before the ceasefire announcement, Ukraine and Russia targeted each
other with long-range strikes.
Russia's drone attack early Monday damaged an infrastructure facility in
Cherkasy, central Ukraine, disrupting gas supplies to households in the
city, Mayor Anatolii Bondarenko said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces downed 119 Ukrainian drones
overnight, most of them over Russia’s Bryansk border region. In Ukraine,
air raid sirens rang out across the country Monday morning. There were
no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
Rubio says this week is ‘very critical’
The outcome of a push by Trump’s administration to swiftly end the
fighting, which has cost tens of thousands of lives, remains unclear,
clouded by conflicting claims and doubts about how far each side might
be willing to compromise amid deep hostility and mistrust.
[to top of second column]
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Honour guard soldiers pack caps after a rehearsal for the Victory
Day military parade, which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace)
Square on May 9 to celebrate 80 years after the victory in World War
II, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP
Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
The clock is ticking on Washington’s engagement in efforts to
resolve Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that this week would
be “very critical.” The U.S. needs to “make a determination about
whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved
in,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
American military aid has been crucial for Ukraine’s war effort, and
further help could be at risk if the Trump administration walks away
from attempts to end the war.
Trump's doubts about Putin's intentions
Trump said over the weekend he harbors doubts about Putin’s
sincerity in pursuing a deal, as Russian forces have continued to
strike civilian areas of Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles
while the talks have proceeded.
But on Friday, Trump described a brokered settlement on the war as
“close.”
Western European officials have accused the Kremlin of dragging its
feet on peace talks so that Russia's larger forces, which have
battlefield momentum, can seize more Ukrainian land.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the war in a phone
call Sunday with Rubio, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. They
focused on “consolidating the emerging prerequisites for starting
negotiations,” the statement said, without elaborating.
Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and
full 30-day halt in the fighting by imposing far-reaching
conditions. Ukraine has accepted it, Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy says.
A French diplomatic official said over the weekend that Trump,
Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed “to pursue in
the coming days the work of convergence” to obtain “a solid
ceasefire.”
The diplomat said a truce is a “prior condition for a peace
negotiation that respects the interest of Ukraine and the
Europeans.”
The official was not authorized to be publicly identified in
accordance with French presidential policy.
Ukraine unwilling to give up land
Ukraine, meanwhile, has balked at surrendering land to Russia in
return for peace, which Washington has indicated could be necessary.
A key point of leverage for Ukraine could be a deal with Washington
that grants access to Ukraine’s critical mineral wealth.
Ukraine and the U.S. have made progress on a mineral agreement, with
both sides agreeing that American aid provided so far to Kyiv will
not be taken into account under the terms of the deal, Ukrainian
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Sunday.
“We have good progress,” he said after talks with U.S. Treasury
Under Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington.
“The main thing is that we clearly defined our red lines: The
agreement must comply with Ukraine’s Constitution, legislation, and
European commitments, and must be ratified by Parliament,” Shmyhal
said.
Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022 has
developed a significant international dimension, further
complicating negotiations.
Putin on Monday thanked North Korea for sending what the U.S.
estimates are thousands of troops to help defeat Ukraine, as well as
allegedly supplying artillery ammunition.
Iran has also helped Russia in the war, with Shahed drones, and
China has sold Russia machinery and microelectronics that Moscow can
use to make weapons, Western officials say.
The U.S. and Europe have been Kyiv's biggest backers.
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