Vladimir Putin wants empty skies on Friday and Saturday to celebrate Victory Day; Ukrainian president says guns can fall silent by Wednesday if Russia reciprocates. What we know on day 1,532
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered a potentially open-ended ceasefire beginning on Wednesday to Vladimir Putin, whose defence ministry has demanded that hostilities should cease for Friday and Saturday so that Russia can mark the anniversary of the second world war defeat of Nazi Germany, 81 years ago.
The Russian defence ministry threatened that if its truce demand was not met there would be a “massive missile strike on the centre of Kyiv” – adopting a tone akin to Donald Trump’s recent threats to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure, in what has been condemned as a potential war crime. Its follows a familiar pattern of unilateral ceasefire declarations by the Russian side – most recently around Orthodox Easter – that have had little to no impact.
Zelenskyy initially responded that the Russian request was “not serious”, later following up that while Kyiv had not received any official requests for a truce, in the time left until midnight on Wednesday “it is realistic to ensure” that a ceasefire takes effect. “We announce a regime of silence starting from 00.00 on the night of May 5 to May 6.” He gave no end time but said Ukraine would “act symmetrically” according to Russian actions. Noting that Russia had failed to respond to Kyiv’s longstanding calls for a lasting ceasefire, he urged the Kremlin “to take real steps to end their war, especially since Russia’s defence ministry believes it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine’s goodwill”.
