Russia-Ukraine War — 2026-05-02

Putin Proposes May 9 Victory Day Ceasefire as Zelenskyy Seeks Details on Scope

Putin proposed a May 9 ceasefire to Trump in an April 29 phone call, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that no definite decision on specific terms had been made. Zelenskyy said on Telegram that he instructed Ukrainian representatives to contact Trump's team to clarify the proposal's scope, questioning whether it covers "a few hours of security for a parade in Moscow, or something more." Zelenskyy countered with a call for a longer-term ceasefire with what he described as "reliable and guaranteed security."

Analysis
Moscow's deliberate vagueness, confirmed by Peskov as late as Thursday, frames the proposal as a Victory Day optics gesture rather than genuine de-escalation. Zelenskyy's routing of clarification through Trump's team signals Kyiv is treating this as a U.S.-mediated process, preserving leverage while avoiding outright rejection. Absent agreed terms and with territorial positions unresolved, the ceasefire is unlikely to hold beyond 72 hours. Moscow's pattern of using short pauses to consolidate rather than settle reinforces that assessment. The proposal may equally be a test of Trump's willingness to pressure Kyiv into Russian-framed terms; no independent sourcing on the Kremlin-side exchange is yet available.

2 sources

Zelenskyy says he is seeking details of Putin May 9 ceasefire proposal - NPR
Zelenskyy responds to Putin's proposal to declare ceasefire on 9 May - Ukrayinska Pravda