Putin declares three-day May ceasefire to mark 80 years since World War II victory

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MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday (Apr 28) declared a three-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine next month to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War II.

The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run from the start of May 8 to the end of May 10, and Russia called on Ukraine to join it as well.

"Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example. In the event of violations of the truce by the Ukrainian side, the Russian armed forces will give an adequate and effective response," the Kremlin said.

The Kremlin also said that Russia once again declares its readiness for peace talks without preconditions.

Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine from the north, east and south on Feb 24, 2022. 

As of Mar 31, a total of 158,341 soldiers on both sides and Ukrainian civilians have been killed, according to local news site the Kyiv Independent, which cited figures from the United Nations, Kyiv and open-source data. 

The US has been trying to broker a lasting ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv but has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin, despite repeated negotiations between President Donald Trump's administration and Russian officials.

The US president on Sunday urged Putin to "stop shooting" and "sign a deal" to end the three-year conflict.

The Kremlin announced a similar, 30-hour truce during Easter, but while both sides reported a dip in fighting, they accused each other of hundreds of violations.

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