This evening Moscow time, the following text (corrected machine translation) was posted by the Ministry of Defense of Russia, announcing a two-day ceasefire over May 8-9 during the commemoration of the Victory 81 years ago in the Great Patriotic War, and sternly warning Ukraine. Earlier today, Ukraine Acting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking in Yerevan, Armenia, where he attended the European Political Community, had made threatening remarks when he disparaged Russia’s ceasefire and commemoration, and added that Russia was afraid that Ukrainian drones would “buzz over Red Square,” referring to the traditional ceremonial mass gathering there. Last night a Ukrainian attack drone crashed into a high-rise apartment building in Moscow.
The Russian Defense Ministry statement:
In accordance with the decision of Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, a truce is declared for May 8-9, 2026, in honor of the celebration of the Soviet people’s Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
We expect the Ukrainian side to follow this example.
At the same time, we have taken note of a statement made by the head of the Kiev regime in Yerevan at the European Political Community summit, which contains threats to strike Moscow specifically on May 9.
