07 MAY 2026 – The Russia-Ukraine war has entered a deeply ironic and dangerous phase this week, centred on Russia’s annual Victory Day commemoration on May 9 — the day Moscow celebrates the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
The sequence of events began when Putin proposed a temporary ceasefire to Trump during a phone call last week. Putin had first spoken of a possible ceasefire coinciding with the 81st anniversary of the WWII victory in a phone conversation with President Donald Trump, and Russia’s Defence Ministry then formally declared a unilateral halt from May 8–9. The declaration came with a severe threat: Russia warned that if Ukraine attempted to disrupt the Victory Day parade, the Russian Armed Forces would launch a “retaliatory, massive missile strike on the centre of Kyiv,” and also warned the civilian population of Kyiv and employees of foreign diplomatic missions to leave the city promptly.
Ukraine’s response was defiant. President Zelenskyy called Russia’s request “not serious” and pointed out that asking Ukraine to hold fire during a Russian military celebration was absurd. Zelenskyy responded by saying that Russia’s Defence Ministry believes it cannot hold a parade without Ukraine’s goodwill, and urged the Kremlin to take real steps to end their war. Rather than simply refusing, Ukraine declared its own separate ceasefire — one that started earlier, on the night of May 5–6, effectively pre-empting and undermining Moscow’s framing.
Russia completely ignored Ukraine’s truce. A Russian ballistic missile attack on the town of Merefa, outside Kharkiv, killed seven civilians and wounded dozens. The strike targeted civilian infrastructure in a city located quite far from the front line. In total, Russian strikes killed at least 27 people across Ukraine during the period Ukraine had declared its ceasefire.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister accused Russia of cynicism and called the claims of wanting peace a facade. Ukraine demonstrated its own long-range capabilities by striking a military-industrial complex in Cheboksary, roughly 1,000 kilometres deep inside Russian territory, and released footage of its domestically-built Flamingo cruise missiles travelling over 1,500 km.
Perhaps most symbolically, this year’s Victory Day parade in Moscow’s Red Square will take place without tanks, missiles or other military equipment for the first time in nearly two decades, with Russia citing the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks as the reason. Authorities cut off mobile internet services for many customers in Moscow ahead of the parade, intensifying what is already a tight information blackout across Russia’s cities. Zelenskyy mocked the development, saying Russia’s decision proves it “fears drones may buzz over Red Square.”
Peace talks remain essentially stalled. Ukraine’s National Security Council Secretary is expected to travel to Miami to meet Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, but negotiations over a 20-point framework, territorial demands, and security guarantees for Ukraine remain deadlocked.
