Putin declares a 3-day ceasefire for May’s WWII anniversary. Ukraine says why wait?

MOSCOW and KYIV — Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine next week to honor the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

A statement posted on the Kremlin website said Putin has ordered a halt in Russian military activity, for “humanitarian reasons,” starting May 8 at midnight and lasting three days for Victory Day, a solemn holiday marked by both Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, responded repeating Kyiv’s readiness to immediately adhere to a monthlong ceasefire, instead of a brief truce just to mark V-Day.

“Why wait until May 8th?” Sybiha said on X. “If the fire can be ceased now and since any date for 30 days—so it is real, not just for a parade. Ukraine is ready to support a lasting, durable, and full ceasefire … for at least 30 days.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later said in a video address that Ukraine has not wanted “a single second of this war” and echoed calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire that would begin as soon as possible.

“We value human lives, not parades,” Zelenskyy said in the address posted to the Telegram messaging app.

On Monday in Kyiv, funerals were held for a teenager and his parents who were among 13 civilians killed in a Russian missile attack on Thursday. It is one of the deadliest strikes on the Ukrainian capital since the full-scale war began.

Russia previously announced an Easter truce, which both Moscow and Kyiv said failed to hold.

Before that, Ukraine had agreed unconditionally to a U.S.-brokered, 30-day ceasefire proposal. Russia did not sign on — with President Putin insisting Ukraine could use the period to rearm and remobilize. Ukraine says Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities increased after the U.S. proposed that ceasefire deal.

But on Monday, the Kremlin called on Ukraine to follow Russia’s “example” with a Victory Day ceasefire, while warning that the Russian military would remain on alert. “In the event of a violation of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the armed forces of Russia would give an adequate and effective response,” the statement said.

Ukraine used to mark Victory Day the same day as Russia on May 9. But since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine switched to observe it on May 8, when most other European countries do. On May 9, Ukraine now marks Europe Day.

Putin’s call for a brief truce comes as the Trump administration says negotiations to end the war have entered a “very critical” week — and as the president’s patience is running thin.

President Trump “is increasingly frustrated with leaders of both countries. He wants to see a permanent ceasefire,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

After meeting one-on-one with Zelenskyy ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral this weekend, Trump again called out Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine and expressed doubts about Putin’s willingness to end the war.

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” he wrote on the Truth Social platform on Saturday. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”

Polina Lytvynova contributed to this report from Kyiv.