Putin, Zelenskiy proclaim rival ceasefires around Russia's Victory day

President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a two-day ceasefire in the conflict with Ukraine on May 8-9 to mark Russia’s World War Two victory, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy countered with his own proposed pause in fighting starting earlier, on the night of May 5-6.



Putin had first spoken of a possible ceasefire coinciding with commemorations of the 81st anniversary of the victory in a phone conversation last week with U.S. President Donald Trump.



Ukraine had been wary of the notion of a brief ceasefire rather than moves towards a prolonged end to fighting. Russia’s Defence Ministry, in a post on Telegram, announced the two-day May 8-9 truce and said it expected Ukraine to follow suit. It said Moscow's forces would take all measures to ensure

the safety of commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War.



It warned, however, that any attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the celebrations would prompt retaliation.