Putin declares 2-day Ukraine ceasefire for Victory Day

Russia's Defence Ministry said Sunday that President Vladimir Putin declared a two-day ceasefire with Ukraine covering May 8 and 9 to mark the anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat in World War Two, The Korea Times reported.

Russia simultaneously warned of massive retaliatory missile strikes against central Kyiv if Ukraine violates the truce, calling on civilians and foreign diplomatic staff to evacuate the Ukrainian capital ahead of the ceasefire window.

The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the ceasefire spans the full 48 hours of May 8 and 9 — dates Russia observes annually to commemorate the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany at the close of World War Two — according to The Korea Times.

Alongside the truce declaration, Moscow issued an explicit evacuation warning for Ukraine's capital. "We are warning the civilian population of Kyiv and staff at foreign diplomatic missions of the need to leave the city in a timely manner," the Defence Ministry said in a statement, according to The Korea Times.

Russia framed the warning as a break from prior restraint during the conflict. "Despite the capabilities at our disposal, Russia has previously refrained from such actions on humanitarian grounds," the ministry said in the same statement.

The announcement represents one of Moscow's most direct public threats to strike central Kyiv, conditioned on Ukraine taking actions that Russia says would disrupt Victory Day observances during the proposed halt in fighting.

Russia said it retained both the capability and the willingness to launch what it described as massive retaliatory missile strikes on the Ukrainian capital if terms of the ceasefire were not honored.

The Korea Times report did not include a response from Ukrainian officials to Russia's ceasefire announcement or its warning to evacuate Kyiv.