MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. Russia warns Ukraine against violating the Victory Day ceasefire; US actions in the Strait of Hormuz undermine the peace process; and Moscow insists that non-nuclear European countries should abandon nuclear ambitions. These stories topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry has declared a Victory Day ceasefire on May 8-9. The ministry warned that downtown Kiev would be targeted in case of provocations. However, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe that Ukraine will very likely try to derail the truce.
Right after the Russian ceasefire plan was announced, Vladimir Zelensky said that Kiev had not received any official ceasefire proposals. Still, he immediately stated that Ukraine intended to observe a ceasefire starting at midnight on May 5-6.
Kiev is trying to seize the initiative and demonstrate that Ukraine also seeks peace in order for US President Donald Trump to react favorably, Valdai International Discussion Club expert Andrey Kortunov explained.
Analysts believe that Ukraine should be expected to stage provocations again. "The Ukrainian leadership wants to force us to take disproportionately tough measures as it uses its own population as human shields," Oleg Karpovich, deputy rector of the Diplomatic Academy, pointed out. "Ukraine may carry out various acts of provocation, only to hold the attention of its Western partners," Denis Denisov, an expert at the Financial University under the Russian Government, added.
