Even by the elevated standards of Kremlin cynicism, Vladimir Putin’s invocation of a three-day ceasefire across the span of the Victory Day celebrations commemorating the end of the second world war in Europe takes some beating.
Putin is well aware of Kyiv’s capacity to embarrass him on this of all days
He has announced that ‘all military actions’ in Ukraine would be suspended between midnight on 8 May to midnight on 11 May, to cover the celebrations on 9 May (Russia celebrates a day later than the rest of Europe) which, because of the span of time zones across this huge country, lasts longer than 24 hours.
Putin claims this is based on ‘humanitarian considerations’ while other Kremlin mouthpieces said it was an act of respect for the fallen of what they call the Great Patriotic War. Of course, it is nothing of the sort, and Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal that this be extended to a 30-day ceasefire (ten times the humanitarianism?), or indeed Donald Trump’s call for indefinite cessation of hostilities, have been ignored.
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