Report
Zelensky calls Putin’s Victory Day celebration a ‘parade of cynicism’
Russian media announced the start of the three-day ceasefire sought by Vladimir Putin. Kyiv never accepted the proposal, dismissing it as a sham that does nothing to further genuine ceasefire talks.
The wait for the Moscow WWII Victory Day parade on May 9 has swayed Ukrainian domestic politics for days, and on the day of the celebrations in Kyiv, on May 8, the epicenter of the war seemed to shift to the Russian capital.
In the afternoon, Russian media announced the start of the three-day ceasefire sought by Vladimir Putin. Kyiv never accepted the proposal, dismissing it as a sham that does nothing to further genuine ceasefire talks. President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked for at least 30 days of a full ceasefire “from this very moment … 30 days which could become the beginning of years of peace”, adding that this would be “a real indicator of a movement towards peace”, but Moscow has never considered the idea.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance also spoke out on the subject, again stressing Washington’s difficulty in finding common ground between the warring parties. This time, however, Trump’s combative VP conceded that “Russia is making excessive demands,” while also saying that this is “how negotiations work.” Nevertheless, in Vance’s view, “Russia and Ukraine should at least agree on the general guidelines to follow.”
But that is precisely the sticking point: on every fundamental issue – Crimea, a frozen front line, the four partially occupied regions, disarmament, security guarantees, jurisdiction – the two sides remain worlds apart, and it is unlikely that any viable solution will be found in the short term.
Meanwhile, realities on the ground are dictating the war’s rhythm, and here Ukraine is more and more at a disadvantage, even though Russia is unable to make any decisive breakthrough. On Thursday, a Russian army spokesman claimed the capture of another village in Donetsk, Troitskoye, just before the announced ceasefire. The Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of continuing with the bombings despite the media fanfare about the truce. Sumy and Kharkiv were hit the hardest, with at least one dead and three wounded.
Zelensky warned that on May 9 in Moscow “there will be a parade of cynicism – marching tanks and columns of killers – while peaceful people walk here. That is the difference between us.”
For the past three years, Ukraine has celebrated WWII Victory Day on May 8, a change introduced by Zelensky to distance Kyiv from its enemy (even though the Ukrainians fighting were part of the Red Army and did not fight independently). Russian officials, for their part, accused Ukrainian forces of trying to retake ground in Kursk during the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, a bizarre incident unfolded near Kyiv: police arrested a man who shot a soldier and one of the latter’s relatives in Sofiivska Borshchahivka. Authorities said the killer, an ex-serviceman, had sold one of the victims a gun a month ago on credit for $1,000, and on Thursday demanded that he pay the money. The ensuing argument ended in the shooting, which left both victims dead.
“The war of aggression against Ukraine is not a continuation of the fight against fascism. Putin’s campaign against a free, democratic country has nothing in common with the struggle against Nazi tyranny,” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier reminded the Bundestag in his speech marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. That historical distortion, he said, serves only to cloak imperial madness and grave injustice. “Also and especially on 8 May we support Ukraine in its struggle for freedom, democracy and sovereignty. Leaving Ukraine undefended would mean abandoning the lesson of 8 May.”
Brussels agrees: EU leaders, from High Representative Kaja Kallas to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, have voiced the same position in recent days.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/per-zelensky-si-celebra-la-parata-del-cinismo on 2025-05-09