The unilateral Russian truce comes into effect on the occasion of Victory Day

Moscow.- The 48-hour unilateral truce declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Victory Day came into effect at midnight today, Thursday, although it is not yet known whether Ukraine will ultimately join it. Anyway, the Russian Ministry of Defense assured that its troops will suspend “all military actions” until Saturday, when the celebrations for the 81st anniversary of the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany conclude. That cessation of hostilities, according to Defense, includes the provisional suspension of missile bombings, high-precision and long-range weaponry, and artillery pieces, as well as attacks with assault drones against enemy infrastructure. That said, Moscow warned the Ukrainian authorities that if they try to spoil the holiday most cherished by Russians, Moscow will launch “a massive missile attack against the center of Kyiv”, so they have recommended that residents and diplomatic staff leave the capital of the neighboring country.

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Russian authorities accuse Zelensky

Russian authorities accuse Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of threatening to attack Moscow with drones on the occasion of May 9th. In fact, Zelensky, when speaking this Monday at the summit of the European Political Community in Armenia, stated: “Russia has announced a May 9 parade in Moscow without military equipment. If this happens, it will be the first time in many, many years. They cannot afford military equipment and fear that drones could fly over Red Square.” Regarding the Russian truce, Zelensky further contributed to the confusion on Thursday by stating that “Ukraine will act fairly, day by day.” “Russia continues to kill people while being totally irrationally obsessed with a few hours of truce in a Moscow area,” said the Ukrainian leader, who did support the truce for Orthodox Easter in April. The Kremlin announced today that it will adopt additional security measures to protect Putin during these days, in which he will receive Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who, however, will not attend the military parade in Red Square. Only three foreign leaders will attend Saturday’s parade: the Belarusian, Malaysian, and Laotian leaders, the Kremlin reported this Thursday.

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Last year, although the parties did not agree on a truce for Victory Day, Kyiv respected the anniversary and Moscow celebrated without incident a large parade in Red Square on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, which was attended by about thirty world leaders.