Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Donald Trump, Politics, World News
Russia has declared a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine from 8-11 May following Donald Trump’s ‘historic’ meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The temporary ceasefire will cover Russia’s Victory Day on May 9, which marks the end of the World War II.
Putin has said the Kremlin would be issuing an appropriate response to any 'violations' if Ukraine doesn't follow the ceasefire.
As per the BBC, a translation of the statement said: "Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example.
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"In the event of violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will give an adequate and effective response.
"The Russian side once again declares its readiness for peace talks without preconditions, aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, and constructive interaction with international partners."
Ukraine and Russia targeted each other with long-range strikes, officials said on Monday, amid continuing uncertainty about whether an agreement to stop their more than three-year war is within reach at the start of what America’s top diplomat called a 'very critical' week.
The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces downed 119 Ukrainian drones overnight, most of them over Russia’s Bryansk border region.
In Ukraine, air raid sirens rang out across the country on Monday morning, though there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The outcome of a push by the Trump administration to swiftly end the fighting remains unclear, clouded by conflicting claims and doubts about how far each side might be willing to compromise.
Trump and Zelenskyy met on Saturday before Pop Francis' funeral in the Vatican in what was said to be an 'historic' meeting.
Taking to Twitter to reflect on their meeting, Zelenskyy wrote: "Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people.
"Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you @POTUS."
The pair 'had a very productive discussion', White House communications director Steven Cheung said.
While Zelenskyy’s spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov said the meeting lasted around 15 minutes.
Prior to winning the election, Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine within the first 24 hours back as president, but it's certainly turned out to be a lot more complicated than that.
The 47th POTUS has often took to Truth Social to express his thoughts on the war.
"There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns over the last few days," Trump said recently.
"It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ’banking’ or ’secondary sanctions?’ Too many people are dying."
