- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine for May 8-10.
- The ceasefire would be in celebration of Soviet victory in World War II.
- Putin also publicly acknowledged for the first time that North Korean troops have been fighting alongside Russian troops.
On Monday, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine next month. This is the second time in the last two weeks that Putin has promised a temporary pause in the fighting.
According to The New York Times, the Kremlin said Russian forces would cease fighting for 72 hours on May 8 for the celebration of Victory Day on May 9. Victory Day, a major holiday in Russia, celebrates the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War II.
“During this period, all hostilities will cease,” the Kremlin said in a statement. “Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example.”
During the Victory Day celebrations, Putin will host international leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, per Reuters.
In response to Putin’s ceasefire announcement, Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister wrote on X, “if Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately.”
“Why wait until May 8th?“ he added. ”Ukraine is ready to support a lasting, durable, and full ceasefire. And this is what we are constantly proposing, for at least 30 days."
Putin’s ceasefire order appeared to try to signal that Russia is still looking for peace, something that is being disputed by Ukraine and its allies, per Reuters.
Working toward an end to the war
According to The New York Times, President Donald Trump has made it clear he wants a permanent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
The Kremlin’s ceasefire announcement comes just days after President Donald Trump called out Putin on social media, telling him to “STOP!” bombarding Ukraine amid efforts backed by the U.S. to broker a truce.
Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday while in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, and afterward said that he questioned whether Putin truly wants peace.
“Maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Russia has refused to agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire that Ukraine was on board with. There was a one-day truce on Easter, announced by Putin, that did not hold but did reduce hostilities on both sides.
The Kremlin’s statement announcing the May ceasefire said the country was ready “for peace negotiations without preconditions.” But it added that any talks should be “directed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis.” According to The New York Times, this references Putin’s demands for changes made in Russia’s favor in Ukraine and in Europe.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration will be working this week to decide whether to continue pursuing a peace deal.
“We have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in,” Rubio said, according to The New York Times. “Or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally if not more important in some cases.”
North Korean troops confirmed in Ukraine
On Monday, Putin acknowledged for the first time that North Korean troops joined Russian troops in the fighting to recover Russian territory following Ukraine’s incursion last year into the Kursk region, according to CNN.
This acknowledgement came two days after Russia claimed to have recaptured the entire Kursk region.
“Our Korean friends acted out of a sense of solidarity, justice and genuine comradeship,” Putin said in a statement, per CNN.
“We pay tribute to the heroism, high level of special training and self-sacrifice of the Korean soldiers who, shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our homeland as their own,” he added.