Russia has violated the three-day ceasefire ordered by Vladimir Putin more than 700 times, Ukraine has claimed.
“Predictably, Putin’s ‘Parade ceasefire’ proves to be a farce,” Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said.
He added that Moscow’s forces had already breached the truce, which Kyiv never agreed to, at least 734 times after it was supposed to come into effect at midnight local time.
The 72-hour ceasefire coincides with Russia’s May 9 Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square, which will be attended by over two dozen world leaders, including Xi Jinping who met with his “old friend” Putin in the Kremlin this morning.
“Russian forces continue to attack across the entire frontline,” Mr Sybiha said, adding that they had carried out 63 “assault operations”.
Volodymyr Zelensky had previously warned that Russia’s temporary truce was an attempt at manipulation, dismissing it as nothing more than a “theatrical performance” designed to protect Moscow during the parade.
The United States won’t endorse the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Vladimir Putin and his top officials for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
Ministers from dozens of nations will gather in Lviv on Friday to give political endorsement to the proposals to serve justice against Kremlin chiefs for the invasion.
Sources said the US would not be present at the signing ceremony, confirming a Telegraph exclusive from February that Donald Trump would withdraw his country from the process.
His predecessor, Joe Biden, had taken a leading role in over 10 meetings of a “core group” of countries organising the investigation and subsequent trial of Putin and his cronies.
But as soon as Mr Trump retook his seat in the Oval Office, American officials began to signal their intentions to leave the international justice efforts.
European officials hope that the American leader will change his mind and have not ruled out the possibility of him signing any declaration at a later date.
The Ukrainian parliament has ratified Donald Trump’s minerals deal without any opposition.
A total of 388 of the 400 members making up the Verkhovna Rada gave the greenlight for an American-Ukrainian Reconstruction Fund to be established.
It signals an end to the often bitter negotiations over the agreement, which prompted a very public clash between Mr Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
The pact will see both sides jointly control Ukraine’s vast critical minerals and natural resources wealth, and could be used to pay for future US military aid to Kyiv.
Russia has accused Ukraine of launching border incursions into Kursk after Vladimir Putin’s apparent ceasefire came into effect at midnight.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have accused one another of violating the ceasefire, which was announced by Putin last week.
Ukraine did not commit to the truce, labelling it a ruse by Putin to protect his Victory Day parade on May 9.
Slovakia’s prime minister is searching for a route to Moscow to attend Victory Day celebrations after the Baltic countries reportedly shut their airspaces to flights carrying him to the event.
Robert Fico, who met Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in December, is the only EU leader planning to attend the May 9 parade in Moscow, which will be attended by two dozen foreign leaders.
Gitanas Nauseda, Lithuania’s president, said on Wednesday his country had closed its airspace to flights carrying Fico and Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic, which is not in the EU, to Moscow.
Aircraft travelling between Russia and Europe have typically used Lithuanian airspace since European carriers were told in 2021 to avoid the shorter route through Belarus.
Ukrainian airspace, another shorter route, has been closed since 2022 due to the Russian invasion.
Latvia’s foreign ministry has said it will not allow any flights to the parade but did not specifically mention the Slovak leader.
“Estonia has told us it will not allow us to fly over its territory, despite Slovakia having an all-year permission for the government fleet to use Estonian airspace,” Mr Fico complained.
The Russian army said Thursday it was observing a unilateral three-day truce with Ukraine ordered by Vladimir Putin, but that it was simultaneously “responding” to attacks by Ukraine, which never agreed to the proposal.
“Despite the announcement of the ceasefire, Ukrainian army units have not ceased hostilities against Russian troops. The Russian army is responding in kind to violations of the ceasefire by the army of Ukraine,” the Russian defence ministry said.
Russia has violated the three-day ceasefire it ordered at least 734 times, Ukraine’s foreign minister claimed.
Andrii Sybiha added that Moscow’s forces have carried out 63 “assault operations” and are attacking along the entire eastern front.
The breaches, he said, were recorded between midnight and midday local time during the first hours of the truce.
Vladimir Putin thanked his “dear friend” Xi Jinping for joining celebrations to mark 80 years since the Soviet’s “sacred” victory over Nazi Germany, saying the two countries stood together now against “neo-Nazism”.
Xi is the most powerful of two dozen foreign leaders visiting Moscow for Victory Day and his presence provides an important boost for the Kremlin leader, who has always portrayed his war in Ukraine as a struggle against modern-day Nazis.
Ukraine and its allies reject that characterisation as a grotesque falsehood, accusing Moscow of conducting an imperial-style invasion.
“The victory over fascism, achieved at the cost of enormous sacrifices, is of lasting significance,” Putin told Xi on Thursday.
“Together with our Chinese friends, we firmly stand guard over historical truth, protect the memory of the events of the war years, and counteract modern manifestations of neo-Nazism and militarism.”
Xi, who called Putin his “old friend”, said the two countries would work together to counter “unilateralism and bullying” – an implied reference to the United States.
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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russia has violated ‘parade truce’ 700 times, Ukraine says – The Telegraph
