A three-day ceasefire in Ukraine that was unilaterally declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month was set to come into effect at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday (midnight Moscow time), as Russia prepares to mark the anniversary of its World War II Victory Day on Friday.
It was not immediately clear whether Russian forces observed the ceasefire.
A statement from the Kremlin last month said that Putin ordered “all military actions” in Ukraine to be suspended from midnight May 8 to midnight May 11 based on “humanitarian considerations.”
Kyiv rejected the short-term truce when it was first announced. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called Putin’s announcement a “theatrical performance” and reiterated his country’s support for an earlier US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire which Russia has rejected.
The three-day period Putin picked for the ceasefire coincides with Russia’s World War II Victory Day commemorations, including a traditional military parade set for Friday, May 9.
The high-profile event is expected to be attended by the leaders of several countries that are friendly with Russia, including China’s Xi Jinping.
As in previous years, it is expected to be used by Putin and his government to peddle propaganda, which falsely frames Moscow’s current aggression against Ukraine as a fight against a “Nazi” regime in Kyiv.
Ukrainian drones shut Moscow airports
As Russia prepares to mark the anniversary of the end of WWII, Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow for the second consecutive night overnight into Wednesday.
The attacks forced Russian authorities to temporarily halt air traffic at 13 airports – four in Moscow and nine further afield.
More drones were flying on Wednesday, with the Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin saying one drone that was heading to Moscow was shot down on Wednesday afternoon.
The shutting down of airports was potentially embarrassing for Moscow, as delegations from countries that have remained friendly to Russia were flying in to attend the parade on Friday.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Vietnam’s President To Lam and Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko are among the 29 leaders on the guestlist, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.
Ukraine has previously said it “cannot be responsible for what happens on the territory of the Russian Federation” because of the war.
Zelensky said his country would not be “playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin’s exit from isolation on May 9.”
While Russia has rejected the US ceasefire proposal, the unilateral ceasefire around the Victory Day celebration was the second short-term truce Putin announced in less than a month.
In a surprise move over Easter, the Russia leader announced he instructed his troops to stop all military activity for some 30 hours. Ukraine accused Russia of breaching the truce, although it did say that fighting has slowed along some parts of the front lines.