Russia and Ukraine Declare Separate Unilateral Ceasefires for Victory Day

May 6, 2026

Russia declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine for May 8-9, 2026, during Victory Day commemorations, while Ukraine declared its own ceasefire for May 5-6, 2026. Russian strikes killed nine people across Ukraine on May 4, 2026, prompting Zelensky to accuse Putin of cynicism. Russia lost more territory than it gained in April 2026 for the first time since summer 2023.

Competing ceasefire declarations

▪Ukraine declared a ceasefire between May 5-6, 2026, starting at 00:00 (2100 GMT) on the night of May 5-6
▪Russia declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ukraine between May 8-9, 2026, when Moscow marks its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations
▪Ukraine said it was not serious to expect Ukraine to observe a ceasefire during a Russian military holiday
▪Russia marks World War II Victory Day each year with a massive military parade through Red Square

Civilian casualties from strikes

▪A Russian strike on the village of Vilnyansk in the southern Zaporizhzhia region killed two people on May 4, 2026: a 51-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman
▪A Ukrainian drone killed a civilian in the Russian border region of Belgorod on May 4, 2026
▪A Ukrainian drone hit a residential high-rise building in an upscale Moscow neighbourhood overnight on May 3-4, 2026
▪A Russian ballistic missile attack on the town of Merefa outside Kharkiv killed seven civilians and wounded dozens on May 4, 2026
▪Russian strikes killed nine people across Ukraine on May 4, 2026, according to Ukrainian officials

Russian territorial losses

▪Russia's advances in Ukraine slowed since late 2025, as communication issues in the Russian army combined with Ukrainian counterattacks helped Kyiv make localised breakthroughs in the southeast
▪Russia currently occupies just over 19 percent of Ukraine as of May 2026
▪Ukraine's net territorial gains in April 2026 represented only 0.02 per cent of Ukrainian territory
▪Russia lost more territory than it gained in Ukraine in April 2026 for the first time since a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer of 2023
▪Approximately 7 percent of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea and areas in the Donbas region, were already under Russian or pro-Russian separatist control before the 2022 invasion
▪Russia ceded control of about 120 square kilometres between March and April 2026, according to Institute for the Study of War data
▪The majority of the Ukrainian territory Russia currently occupies was seized during the first weeks of Russia's invasion in 2022

Diplomatic developments

▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Bahrain on May 4, 2026, for talks on security cooperation
▪US-led diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war experienced a lull as of May 2026, as Washington shifted its focus to conflict in the Middle East

Moscow missile strike threats

▪Russia threatened to launch a retaliatory massive missile strike on the centre of Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War

Perspective of Ukraine

▪Ukraine said it was not serious to expect Ukraine to observe a ceasefire during a Russian military holiday
▪Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Vladimir Putin of 'utter cynicism' after Russia hit energy plants following ceasefire claims

Perspective of Russia

▪Russia threatened to launch a retaliatory massive missile strike on the centre of Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the celebration of the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War