Zelenskyy seeks details of Russia's proposed May 9 ceasefire plan

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was pressing Donald Trump’s team for details of a proposed May 9 ceasefire that Vladimir Putin raised in a call with the U.S. president, framing the offer as a question of intent rather than a breakthrough in the war.

The Russian proposal would line up with Victory Day, Russia’s annual May 9 commemoration of the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany and the centerpiece of a major Moscow military parade. Zelenskyy said Kyiv wants to know whether the pause would amount to only "a few hours of security for a parade in Moscow, or something more." He said Ukraine’s position remained a long-term ceasefire, reliable and guaranteed security for people, and a lasting peace.

Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Ukraine had instructed its representatives to contact Trump’s team and clarify the proposal. He added that Ukraine had not received any formal or informal May 9 ceasefire offers, and warned that Russia could use any pause as "tactical deception." Trump said the April 29 call with Putin lasted about 90 minutes and included discussion of a possible ceasefire in the four-year war in Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, Putin raised the May 9 timing during that conversation.

The timing sharpened scrutiny of Moscow’s motives. Putin has used Victory Day to rally domestic support since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, turning the holiday into a stage for wartime messaging as much as remembrance. Zelenskyy’s comments signaled that Kyiv is not treating the proposal as a diplomatic opening on its own terms, but as a test of whether Moscow is prepared to move beyond temporary optics.

The battlefield added weight to that skepticism. Russian attacks continued overnight while the ceasefire discussions unfolded, including strikes that killed one person in Dnipro and wounded dozens in Odesa. The violence underscored the gulf between ceasefire talk and the reality on the ground.

The suspicion is sharpened by precedent. Putin declared a 72-hour ceasefire last year for the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe in World War Two, a move Kyiv called a ruse and said Russia violated hundreds of times. That history now hangs over the new May 9 proposal, leaving Washington and Kyiv to judge whether it is a substantive opening or another tactical pause timed to Russia’s symbols and audiences.