Ukraine announces ceasefire from May 6, awaits reciprocal steps from Russia – Zelensky

In a post on Telegram, Zelensky noted that Ukraine has not received any official signals from Russia regarding a cessation of hostilities, despite statements circulating on social media, Ukrinform reports.

"As of today, there has been no official appeal to Ukraine regarding the modality of a cessation of hostilities that is being claimed on Russian social media," he said.

Zelensky stressed that Ukraine considers human life to be of far greater value "than any anniversary 'celebration'."

"In this regard, we are announcing a ceasefire regime starting at 00:00 on the night of May 5-6," he stated.

According to Zelensky, there is sufficient time before then to ensure that the ceasefire takes effect.

"We will act reciprocally starting from that moment. It is time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war, especially since Russia's Defense Ministry believes it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine's goodwill," he added.

On April 29, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump that Russia was ready to declare a ceasefire on May 9.

On May 4, Russia's Defense Ministry announced what it called a "ceasefire in honor of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War" from May 8 to 9.

Earlier, Zelensky said that discussions about a potential May 9 ceasefire had taken place between the United States and Russia, but Ukraine had not been part of those talks.