Putin announces truce on eve of Victory Day

MOSCOW, April 28(TASS): The Russian Armed Forces will cease hostilities on humanitarian grounds from 12:00 on May 8 (9:00 p.m. GMT on May 7) to 12:00 a.m. on May 11 (9:00 p.m. GMT on May 10), the Kremlin press service reported, citing President Vladimir Putin's decision.

TASS has compiled the most important information about the upcoming ceasefire.

About truce on 80th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War

- The Russian Armed Forces will cease hostilities for humanitarian reasons from 12:00 a.m. on May 8 (9:00 p.m. GMT on May 7) to 12:00 a.m. on May 11 (9:00 p.m. GMT on May 10).

- Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow suit, the Kremlin said.

- Moscow reiterates that it is ready for peace talks with Kiev without preconditions. At the same time, the root causes of the crisis should be eliminated, the statement emphasized.

- The Kremlin also noted that the Russian Armed Forces will give an adequate and effective response in case Ukraine violates the truce.

About previous truce

- The last time Putin announced a ceasefire was on the eve of Easter.

- It was in effect from 6:00 p.m. [3:00 p.m. GMT] on April 19 to 12:00 a.m. on April 21 [9:00 p.m. on April 20].

- According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian military has violated the truce 4,900 times.

- The ministry specified that the Ukrainian military continued to strike the positions of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as civilian facilities in the border areas of the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk Regions and Crimea.

- The Russian military also said that Ukrainian servicemen had shot down 90 drones during the truce, including eight outside the special military operation zone.