Russia’s unilaterally declared truce in the war with Ukraine began at midnight on May 8. As the Russian Ministry of Defense previously stated, the ceasefire will continue until May 10.
The Russian Ministry claimed that with the beginning of the truce, Russian forces would stop fighting on the front lines, as well as strikes deep into the territory of Ukraine.
Moscow called on Kyiv to adhere to the “declared truce.” Ukraine did not respond to this call in any way.
The Russian Defense Ministry threatened that if the truce on the front is violated or if Ukraine tries to strike Russian territory, the Russian Armed Forces will provide an “appropriate response.” If the Ukrainian side tries to disrupt the celebration of May 9 in Moscow, Russian forces “will launch a large-scale missile attack on central Kiev.”
Russia and Ukraine announced on May 4 that they would temporarily cease fire, but they did not agree on their decisions. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that it would declare a truce for two days – May 8 and 9. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky responded by saying that Ukraine would announce a “regime of silence” earlier – as of midnight on May 6.
The fighting did not stop. Ukraine accused Russia of violating the “regime of silence”, although Moscow did not promise to respect it (just as Kiev did not promise to respect the Russian truce).