Russia is marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War [VCG/VCG via Getty]
A three-day truce in the conflict with Ukraine ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with World War II Victory Day commemorations took effect Thursday, Russian state media reported.
Ukraine never agreed to the truce and has dismissed it as political theatrics, calling instead for a 30-day ceasefire.
The truce began at midnight (2100 GMT on Wednesday) and is scheduled to last until the end of Saturday, according to the Kremlin.
“The ceasefire … on the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory has begun,” the state RIA news agency reported.
Hours before, Moscow and Kyiv traded a slew of aerial attacks, prompting airport closures in Russia and leaving at least two dead in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has said Russian forces will honour Putin’s order, but will respond “immediately” if Ukraine launches any attacks.
Putin announced the truce last month as a “humanitarian” gesture, following pressure from the United States to halt his three-year assault on Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump has sought to broker a lasting ceasefire between the enemies since his inauguration, but has failed to extract major concessions from the Kremlin.
Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional ceasefire in March, and has since offered only slim contributions to Trump’s peace efforts.
Ukraine has said it does not believe Russia will adhere to this truce and accused Moscow of hundreds of violations during a previous, 30-hour ceasefire ordered by Putin for Easter.
