Russia’s Defense Ministry announced a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine for Friday and Saturday to mark the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, while warning it would retaliate if Kyiv tried to disrupt Victory Day events. The ministry threatened a “massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv” and urged civilians and foreign diplomatic staff to leave the city promptly if they believe an attack is planned.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would observe a truce beginning at 12 a.m. Wednesday and would mirror Russia’s actions from that moment, though he did not set an end date. Zelenskyy added that Kyiv had not received any formal ceasefire requests but that it was “realistic to ensure” a pause takes effect before midnight Wednesday. Speaking at a summit in Armenia, he suggested the Kremlin fears drones over Red Square and called for continued pressure on Russia, including sanctions.
The announcements coincide with Russian preparations for Victory Day, the country’s most important secular holiday, traditionally marked by a large military parade on Red Square. This year, officials have scaled back Moscow’s parade — for the first time in nearly two decades it will proceed without tanks, missiles and much of the heavy military hardware — citing security concerns amid ongoing Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russia. Some regional parades have also been reduced or canceled.
Analysts note the move follows a familiar pattern of short-lived ceasefires timed to holidays, including a ceasefire around Orthodox Easter that had little impact. Last year, Putin declared a 72-hour ceasefire beginning May 7, 2025; Moscow also restricted cellphone internet service for several days then to try to prevent drone attacks. Russian media reported operators are again warning customers of possible mobile internet limits in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the coming days.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made Victory Day a central element of his tenure, using the commemoration of the Soviet Union’s enormous World War II sacrifice to bolster national unity and, critics say, to justify his actions in Ukraine. Last year’s 80th-anniversary events drew the largest group of visiting world leaders to Moscow in a decade, including China’s Xi Jinping, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Slovakia’s Robert Fico; Fico is expected to attend again this year.
The ceasefire announcement also followed a recent phone conversation in which Putin raised the idea of a Victory Day truce with U.S. President Donald Trump. For now, both sides appear to be positioning their forces and rhetoric around the holiday: Russia seeking safe celebrations on home soil, Ukraine balancing a willingness to pause with an insistence that Moscow must make genuine moves toward ending the war.