Russia says it will cease fire for 72 hours in Ukraine to celebrate its World War II Victory Day

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday a unilateral ceasefire of 72 hours next week in Ukraine to mark the victory day during the Second World War when the United States is an agreement to put an end to the 3 -year war. Kyiv insisted on a longer and immediate truce.

The Kremlin said that the truce, commanded for “humanitarian land”, will take place from the beginning of May 8 and from the last to the end of May 10 to mark the defeat of Moscow against Nazi Germany in 1945 –Russia's biggest secular holidays.

Ukraine, who has already acceptedUS President Donald TrumpProposal for a 30-day complete ceasefire, rejected the Putin movement as a window cover.

“If Russia really wants peace, it must stop immediately,” said Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, according to the ministry. He stressed that kyiv is ready for a “durable, reliable and complete” ceasefire for at least 30 full days.

“Why wait until May 8? If we can stop shooting now from a date and 30 days-so that it is real, and not only for a parade,” he said without specifying if Ukraine would be ready to accept the truce offered in Moscow.

The Kremlin had urged Ukraine to follow the plunge.

“Russia believes that the Ukrainian party should follow this example,” he said, warning that “in the event of ceasefire violations by the Ukrainian party, the Russian armed forces will give an adequate and effective response.”

Putin had previously announced a unilateral Easter ceasefire of 30 hours and Ukraine had expressed his preparation for the reciprocity of any real truce at the time, but he said that the Russian attacks continued. Moscow, in turn, accused Ukraine of not having stopped its attacks.

Russia and Ukraine also undertook to observe a 30 -day stop on the strikes on the energy infrastructure which was negotiated by the Trump administration, but they have repeatedly accused themselves of massive violations until the measure expires.

Truce attempts highlighted the massive challenges to monitor any possible stops in hostilities along the contact line of more than 1,000 kilometers (more than 600 miles).

So far, Putin had refused to accept a complete unconditional ceasefire, binding it to a stop in Western weapons supplies to the mobilization effort of Ukraine and Ukraine.

The Kremlin has reaffirmed that “the Russian party again declares its preparation for peace talks without prerequisites aimed at suppressing the causes of the Ukrainian crisis and constructive cooperation with international partners.”

The Kyiv Ukrainians laughed at Putin's move.

“There is no confidence in any Putin's proposals,” said Nazar Latsenko, a lawyer. He added that “we absolutely want the war to end in the words that are favorable to us, on fair conditions.”

A soldier from the 156th brigade, who was only identified by his first name, Kostiantyn, in accordance with the military rules, rejected the truce as “ridiculous”, adding that “there may be no bombing as hard as there are every night here, but fights will be waged in one way or another”.

Student Oleksandra Serpilova considered the declaration as “another attempt to maintain America committed, to give Trump hope that a kind of negotiations is possible”.

Just before the announcement of the ceasefire, Ukraine and Russia were targeted with long-term strikes.

Russia’s drone attack damaged an infrastructure installation in Cherkasy on Monday in central Ukraine, disrupting gas supply to households in the city, said mayor Anatolii Bondarenko.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had killed 119 Ukrainian drones overnight, most of them in the Bryansk border region in Russia. In Ukraine, Air Raid Sirens rang across the country on Monday morning. There was no immediate report of victims or damage.

Rubio says this week is “very critical”

The result of a thrust of Trump's administration to quickly put an end to the fighting, which cost tens of thousands of lives, remains uncertain, darkened by contradictory assertions and doubts about the measure that each party could be willing to compromise in the midst of hostility and deep distrust.

The clock is running on Washington's commitment in efforts to resolve the largest European conflict since the Second World War.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that this week would be “very critical”. The United States must “determine if it is a company in which we want to continue to participate,” he said on NBC's “Meet The Press”.

US military aid was crucial for Ukraine's war effort, and additional aid could be at risk if the Trump administration is moving away from attempts to end the war.

Trump's doubts about Putin's intentions

Trump said during the weekend, he housesdoubts about Putin's sincerityby continuing an agreement, while the Russian forces continued tohit the civil zones of UkraineWith cruise and ballistics missiles while the talks took place.

But Friday, Trump described a negotiated war for war as “close”.

Officials of Western Europe accused the Kremlin of dragging their feet during peace talks so that the greatest forces of Russia, who have a momentum of the battlefield, can grasp more Ukrainian land.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the war during a telephone call on Sunday with Rubio, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. They focused on “consolidating emerging conditions for the start of negotiations”, according to the press release, without developing.

Russia has actually rejected an American proposal for an immediate and complete 30 -day stop in the fighting by imposing large -scale conditions. Ukraine accepted it, said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A French diplomatic official declared during the weekend that Trump, Zelenskyy and the French president Emmanuel Macron had accepted “to continue the work of convergence in the coming days” to obtain “a solid cease-fire”.

The diplomat said that a truce is a “previous condition for peace negotiation that respects the interest of Ukraine and Europeans”.

The manager was not authorized to be publicly identified in accordance with French presidential policy.

Ukraine does not want to abandon the land

Ukraine, on the other hand, has relied onAbandon land to RussiaIn exchange for peace, what Washington said might be necessary.

A key point of the lever effect for Ukraine could be an agreement with Washington which grantsAccess to the critical mineral wealth of Ukraine.

Ukraine and the United States have made progress in a mineral agreement, the two parties agreeing that the American aid provided so far in kyiv will not be taken into account under the agreement, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Sunday.

“We have good progress,” he said after interviews with the American Treasury under Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington.

“The main thing is that we have clearly defined our red lines: the agreement must comply with the constitution, legislation and European commitments in Ukraine, and must be ratified by Parliament,” said Shmyhal.

The large -scale invasion by Russia of its neighbor in February 2022 developed an important international dimension, further complicating negotiations.

Putin Mondaythanked North KoreaFor having sent what American estimates are thousands of soldiers to help defeat Ukraine, as well as to provide artillery ammunition.

Iran has also helped Russia in the war, with Shahed drones, and China has sold Russian machines and microelectronics that Moscow can use to make weapons, according to Western officials.

The United States and Europe have been the largest kyiv donors.

This story was initially presented on Fortune.com