Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has announced a temporary ceasefire in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will begin on the morning of May 8 and will last until May 11.
In a statement, it said Putin declared the ceasefire “based on humanitarian considerations” to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
Ukraine has not yet responded to the announcement.
A translation of the Kremlin’s statement said: “Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example. In the event of violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will give an adequate and effective response.
“The Russian side once again declares its readiness for peace talks without preconditions, aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, and constructive interaction with international partners.”
This comes more than a week after Putin declared a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, ordering all military operations to be suspended from 6 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday until the end of Sunday.
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The directive, issued during a Kremlin meeting with top military officials, was presented as a humanitarian gesture to mark the Orthodox Easter holiday.
According to the Reuters, Putin also indicated that Russian troops should remain on alert in case of any violations or provocations by Ukrainian forces, while expressing an expectation that Kyiv would observe a similar truce.
“Based on humanitarian considerations … the Russian side announces an Easter truce. I order a stop to all military activities for this period,” Putin told his military chief, Valery Gerasimov, at a meeting in the Kremlin.
“We assume that Ukraine will follow our example. At the same time, our troops should be prepared to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions,” Putin added.
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