Russia and Ukraine announced two separate and independent ceasefires this week, even as very deadly attacks with missiles and drones continued to cause deaths among both sides, showing the very fragile and very uncertain road to de-escalation.
Russia said it would stop fighting for a short period on May 8 and 9, the time when it holds its annual Victory Day celebrations of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.
At the same time, Russian leaders gave a very serious warning of a “massive missile strike” on the middle part of Kyiv if Ukraine breaks the truce.Kyiv, on the other hand, said it would stop shooting from midnight on May 6, thus choosing a different schedule and method.
According to BBC report, the Ukrainian government called their ceasefire indefinite, remarking that they would “mirror” Russia’s behavior.Per Ukrainian officials, including chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, Kyiv will maintain its ceasefire only if Moscow decides to do the same. “If the ceasefire announced by the Ukrainian president is observed by Russia, we will continue to observe it, ” he said, while pointing out that it is now up to Moscow to make a decision.
The situations remained tense and deadly bombings kept happening even after the ceasefire declarations. At least five people were killed and several more were injured in the attacks overnight with missiles and drones all over Ukraine.
Meanwhile, authorities in Russia’s Chuvash Republic said a Ukrainian drone attack early on Tuesday had killed two people and injured 32 others.The two conflicting ceasefire announcements seem to be made independently as they didn’t have any common terms, duration or means of monitoring the ceasefire.
Experts point out that if the parties are not in agreement, the chances of the ceasefire lasting are still very slim.
As both countries try to time their ceasefires at points that are both symbolically and strategically important to them, it is the people that suffer the most from the ongoing fighting.
This has led to doubts as to whether these ceasefire declarations are really a renunciation of violence or just another step in a long war.