Overview
- Russia’s Defense Ministry on Monday declared a unilateral May 8–9 truce for Victory Day and warned it would launch a massive missile strike on central Kyiv if the celebrations were attacked.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would observe its own ceasefire starting at 00:00 on the night of May 5–6, citing the value of human life and noting Ukraine had received no formal proposal from Moscow.
- Fighting continued the same day, with Ukrainian officials reporting at least nine people killed in strikes across the country, including seven in the Kharkiv region town of Merefa.
- Moscow said civilians and foreign diplomats should leave Kyiv if the celebrations are threatened, and Russian authorities scaled back the Red Square parade without tanks or missiles after recent long-range Ukrainian drone attacks.
- Moscow had floated a one-day May 9 pause in a call with President Donald Trump, yet previous holiday truces were short and disputed, and a Ukrainian drone also struck a Moscow high-rise with no casualties reported.