Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s ‘ceasefire’ begins after world leaders arrive in Moscow for Victory Day

Russia is asking for “too much” concessions in its ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine, US vice president JD Vance said but added that he was not that pessimistic about the chances for ending the conflict.

The Trump administration wants Russia and Ukraine to agree on some guidelines for talking to each other directly, Mr Vance said, adding that it would be necessary to end the war.

“I wouldn’t say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution,” Mr Vance said in an interview with the Munich security council president, Wolfgang Ischinger.

“What I would say is, right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much. OK?” he said.

Ukraine has made no promises to follow Russia’s 72-hour ceasefire, which came into effect at midnight Moscow time last night.

Volodymyr Zelensky instead said his country stood by its offer to observe a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia.

“We are not withdrawing this proposal, which could give diplomacy a chance,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.

Ukraine has called the Kremlin’s ceasefire a ruse by Russian president Vladimir Putin to create the impression he wants to end the war, which began when Russia invaded its neighbouring country in February 2022.

Mr Zelensky said Russia had given no response to the 30-day offer except for new strikes.

“This clearly and obviously demonstrates to everyone who the source of the war is,” the Ukrainian president added.

Mr Zelensky also appeared to acknowledge the numerous Ukrainian drone attacks that have been targeting Russian sites, including the city of Moscow, in recent days.

“It is absolutely fair that Russian skies, the skies of the aggressor, are also not calm today, in a mirror-like way,” the Ukrainian president said.

Ukraine launched successive drone attacks on Moscow this week, forcing the closure of all four airports serving the Russian capital.

Russian forces have reportedly violated the Kremlin’s unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine within just a few hours of the truce coming into effect.

Ukraine’s air force said the Russian aircraft had launched guided bombs on the Sumy region for the second time in two hours early today.

The air force said the strikes happened after midnight local time, when Russia’s three-day ceasefire took effect.

The Russian ceasefire has been called to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

Ukraine has made no promises to honour the truce, which it calls a distraction from genuine peace efforts.

As part of the anniversary events, Russian president Vladimir Putin is hosting Chinese president Xi Jinping and other leaders in Moscow, and will attend a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square tomorrow.