Unilateral ceasefires in Ukraine

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed an open-ended ceasefire starting on Wednesday, 6 May, after Russia requested a two-day truce.

Zelensky said Ukraine will observe the truce beginning 12 am on Wednesday and respond in kind to Russia's actions from that moment on.

He had initially said Moscow's request was "not serious" and refused to offer security for a parade in Moscow.

"We declare a silence regime starting at 12:00 a.m. overnight from May 5 to 6. It is quite realistic to ensure the ceasefire in the period ahead of this time. We will be acting symmetrically starting from the above-mentioned time," Vladimir Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel.

The Russian defense ministry warned earlier that should Ukraine try to disrupt celebrations of the Victory Day, the Russian army will deliver a retaliatory strike on downtown Kiev and called on Kiev’s civilian population employees of foreign diplomatic missions about the need to leave the city in a timely manner in the event of a retaliatory strike.