Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine at midnight on Could 7 to mark the eightieth anniversary of the Soviet Union’s conquer Nazi Germany in World Warfare II.
The proposed truce — which Kyiv’s Western allies will meet with skepticism — will run from Could 8 to Could 11, coinciding with Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, the Kremlin mentioned in a press release on Telegram. Whereas Ukraine has but to reply, Russia threatened “an satisfactory and efficient response” if Kyiv violates the proposed ceasefire.
Moscow additionally declared a short lived truce over Easter, however Ukraine accused Russia’s personal forces of violating it 1000’s of occasions. Russia has lengthy rejected a full ceasefire until Ukraine accepts a listing of maximalist Kremlin calls for, together with demilitarizing and ceding huge swathes of territory.
On Monday, Russia’s chief diplomat went even additional, ruling out a peace cope with Ukraine until the world acknowledges Crimea and different occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian — a marked hardening of Moscow’s place shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned Crimea would stay below Russian management.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s long-serving overseas minister, informed Brazilian newspaper O Globo that “worldwide recognition” of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, in addition to Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, areas which the Kremlin partially occupied after its 2022 full-scale invasion, could be an “crucial” in any negotiations with Ukraine.
Lavrov’s remarks got here days after Trump mentioned that “Crimea will stick with Russia” and attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for refusing to ever acknowledge the annexed peninsula as Russian.
“All people understands that it’s [Crimea] been with them [Russia] for a very long time. It’s been with them lengthy earlier than Trump got here alongside,” the U.S. president informed Time Journal final week.
The U.S. lately introduced a peace plan to Kyiv which might see Crimea given to Russia and American recognition of the occupied territory. Ukraine has vigorously rejected any negotiated settlement that features surrendering land to Moscow, viewing it as a capitulation to an aggressor, although hopes have waned that Kyiv may retake the peninsula militarily.
The European Union has additionally refused to ever acknowledge Crimea as Russian. “Crimea is Ukraine,” the EU’s prime diplomat Kaja Kallas mentioned final week.
However on Sunday, following a short assembly with Zelenskyy on the Vatican a day earlier, Trump appeared assured Kyiv would conform to cede Crimea to the Kremlin as a part of a truce.
“I feel so, yeah,” he mentioned when requested by reporters if Zelenskyy would go for the proposal.