Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine to coincide with the anniversary of VE Day after Donald Trump said he was “very disappointed” with Russia. Follow the latest on the Ukraine war and listen to Trump 100 as you scroll.
Monday 28 April 2025 15:00, UK
Ukraine is a country that knows a thing or two about dealing with power blackouts, having done so routinely since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and its subsequent attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Now, as huge blackouts hit Spain and Portugal, Ukraine’s energy minister has offered his country’s support in dealing with the crisis.
Posting on X, German Galushchenko says Ukraine is “ready to assist in restoring the stable operation of the energy networks of our partners and allies in Europe”.
“We are ready to share the knowledge and experience, including those gained during the systematic Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure. We are grateful to the EU countries for their support and we are always here to provide assistance.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been busy following his announcement of a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine next month.
He’s been addressing а meeting of the Federal Assembly’s Council of Legislators in Saint Petersburg, thanking MPs for making a “significant contribution to our victory”.
“They support frontline troops and veterans, and many of them have personally joined the ranks of volunteers and defenders of the Fatherland,” he says.
“This is undoubtendly a powerful and courageous act that commands special and sincere respect.”
Donald Trump has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire in Ukraine rather than any temporary pauses in fighting, the White House press secretary says.
Karoline Leavitt was speaking shortly after Vladimir Putin announced he would order all Moscow’s forces to pause fighting from 8-11 May, coinciding with Russia’s celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
“I understand Vladimir Putin this morning offered a temporary ceasefire,” she said. “The president has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire first to stop the killing and stop the bloodshed.”
Leavitt said Trump “remains optimistic he can strike a deal”, but added the US president was “increasingly frustrated with leaders of both countries”, who both “need to come to the table to negotiate their way out of this”.
Despite this, Trump said last night that he felt Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was acting “calmer” after the pair’s meeting in St Peter’s Basilica over the weekend.
Leavitt added that meeting between the two leaders showed Trump “wants to be a peacemaker president, which he was in his first term”, adding he “intends to do that again”.
We’ve now had some response from Ukraine to Russia’s proposal of a three-day ceasefire next week.
Posting on X, Andrii Sybiha, Kyiv’s foreign minister, says that if Russia “truly wants peace”, it must cease all fighting immediately.
He asks why Moscow should wait until 8 May to start the ceasefire and prove “it is real, not just for a parade”.
The Kremlin has announced that from 8-11 May it will order all its forces to lay down its weapons in Ukraine.
The pause in fighting, Moscow says, is centred around Russia’s 80th anniversary celebrations marking the end of the Second World War and is “guided by humanitarian motives”.
But why has Vladimir Putin really pushed for this ceasefire? Here are three potential reasons that military analysts believe he did…
Placating US?
The US is clearly growing impatient with Russia seemingly dragging its feet on a permanent ceasefire, with Donald Trump saying he’s been “disappointed” in Moscow of late.
It comes as relations between the US and Ukraine have warmed following the “miracle” meeting between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in St Peter’s Basilica over the weekend.
Military analyst Professor Michael Clarke says he’s certain Putin is announcing a three-day pause in fighting in response to Trump getting tougher with the Russian leader after his Zelenskyy meeting.
“The atmosphere change between Zelenskyy and Trump – undoubtedly President Trump has indicated more irritation with the Russians. And I think the Russians feel they’ve got to say something.”
He says there’s a better chance of this ceasefire being honoured compared to Putin’s “Easter truce” as there’s more time for both sides to prepare.
However, Clarke adds that Washington is clearly impatient for a full ceasefire and that this pause “won’t come quick enough” for the US.
Protecting Moscow
One reason already being suggested by several analysts and experts is that Putin wants to protect Moscow from Ukrainian drones during its Red Square Victory Day parade.
Moscow is hosting around 20 foreign leaders on 9 May for the event, which will this year mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
Among those heading to the Russian capital for the event are Chinese President Xi Jinping, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Chance to move troops
There’s little doubt that a pause in fighting would bring much-needed respite for Ukrainian troops fighting on the frontlines in the east of the country.
However, it might also be the perfect chance for Moscow to reinvigorate its own war machine by using the cessation in hostilities to move its troops around the battlefield without distraction.
Phillips O’Brien, a professor in strategic studies at the University of St Andrews, believes Moscow wants to use the pause for exactly this.
“The Russian army is getting mauled,” he said on X. “This gives it three days to regroup and get more soldiers to the front (really hard to do with the skies patrolled by drones), before it starts attacking again.”
In our last post we mentioned that Donald Trump was “disappointed” with Vladimir Putin over Russia’s attacks on Ukraine while talks to secure peace are ongoing.
Among the most deadly of Moscow’s recent strikes hit Kyiv last week, where the authorities say the death toll has now risen from 12 to 13 after a 45-year-old man died in hospital.
The ballistic missile strike, which also injured around 90 others, was the deadliest launched by Russian on Ukraine’s capital since July 2024.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy honoured the memory of those killed in the attack at a service in Kyiv. He has insisted that Russia’s ongoing strikes prove it is not interested in long-term peace.
Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a short ceasefire next month comes following more pressure from Donald Trump for Russia to “reach a deal” in Ukraine.
Speaking before boarding Air Force One yesterday, the US president said he was “disappointed” at Russia’s ongoing strikes in Ukraine taking place in the background of peace talks.
“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” Trump said of Putin. “I want him to sign it and be done with it.”
Watch: Trump urges Putin to ‘sit down and sign a deal’
Trump also said he believes Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea as part of a peace deal.
That’s despite Ukraine’s president insisting that Kyiv would not give up the peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Russia has announced it is planning to pause fighting in Ukraine for three days next month.
The Kremlin said the truce will start at midnight on 8 May 8 (9pm UK time on 7 May) and last until the end of May 10. The pause is centred around Russia’s 80th anniversary celebrations marking the end of the Second World War.
Posting on Telegram, the Kremlin says Russia “believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example”.
“In case of violation of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will provide an adequate and effective response,” it adds.
“The Russian side once again declares its readiness for peace negotiations without preconditions, aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, and constructive interaction with international partners.”
Putin previously announced a 30-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over the Easter weekend, though Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops had violated the ceasefire nearly 3,000 times.
Russia says its troops are continuing to make gains along the frontline.
The country’s defence ministry is cited by state news agency RIA as reporting that Russian troops have now taken control of the settlement of Kamianka in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.
Sky News could not independently verify the report.
It comes a day after Russian news agencies reported that Vladimir Putin had phoned military commanders in its southern Kursk region to congratulate them for expelling Ukrainian forces there.
But Kyiv denied the claims, insisting its forces had not been completely expelled from Kursk, adding they were also still operating in Belgorod, another Russian region bordering Ukraine.
While Kyiv acknowledged that the situation is “difficult”, it said forces were holding their positions.
“The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold designated positions and carry out assigned tasks, while inflicting effective fire damage on the enemy with all types of weapons,” Ukraine’s general staff.
At least six people have been killed in Russian attacks across Ukraine, according to regional authorities.
Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said at least five people have been killed and six are injured in the region.
The city of Kostiantynivka was hit by an air strike, with damage caused to 21 houses.
Take a look at the aftermath in the pictures below.
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