'Why would we play Putin's game?': Ukrainians see Russian lull as sideshow

Russia is expected to statesman a self-declared three-day intermission successful warring against Ukraine connected Wednesday night, successful a determination derided by galore Ukrainians and described by President Volodymyr Zelensky arsenic small much than a "theatrical show".

Russia's Vladimir Putin projected the three-day ceasefire to coincide with the day of the extremity of World War Two successful Europe – a nationalist vacation successful Russia connected Friday known arsenic Victory Day.

But successful doing truthful Putin has rejected a overmuch much important connection from the Trump medication for a 30-day ceasefire and negotiations – a connection that was accepted by Ukraine.

Zelensky has successful crook rejected Russia's unilateral three-day ceasefire and said that Ukraine volition not warrant the information of a celebratory subject parade successful Moscow's Red Square connected 9 May.

The Russian connection has been met with wide cynicism successful Ukraine, wherever polls consistently suggest that astir 95% of the colonisation distrusts Russia.

"I don't judge determination volition beryllium immoderate ceasefire," said Tetyana Kondratenko, 42, a shopkeeper successful Khotin Village successful Sumy, a heavy bombarded portion astir six miles (10km) from the Russian border.

"Lately the shelling has lone intensified, for fractional the time contiguous we person heard roar aft boom," Ms Kondratenko said successful a telephone interview.

Zelensky was close to cull the connection "because you cognize however they operate, similar what happened astatine Easter", she added, referring to the Russians.

"They announced a ceasefire, past utilized it to bring successful much instrumentality and started attacking again. What benignant of ceasefire is that?"

Last month, astir Easter, Russia projected a akin 30-hour cessation successful hostilities but was aboriginal accused by Ukraine of violating its ain suggested truce astir 3,000 times.

On that occasion, alternatively than rejecting the connection outright, Ukraine said it would reflector Russia's actions.

A elder Ukrainian subject serviceman told the BBC astatine the clip that frontline units received an bid to halt firing astatine Russian positions, but to grounds grounds of Russian violations and instrumentality occurrence if needed.

By Wednesday Ukrainian officials had not said categorically whether they would set their subject enactment implicit the three-day period. Asked if Ukrainian forces planned to proceed subject operations, a root successful the statesmanlike bureau told the BBC: "We'll see."

From Novosofiivka village, successful the precise severely deed portion of Zaporizhzhia, Antonina Sienina, 35, said that immoderate ceasefire worthy agreeing to should travel with "solid guarantees" for Ukraine's information and sovereignty – not thing included successful Putin's program for the adjacent 3 days.

But Ms Sienina had mixed feelings. Her parents were killed successful a Russian strike, her member has been wounded, and her colony has been pounded, truthful "maybe it wasn't close to refuse" the three-day proposal, she added.

"Because honestly, we would beryllium blessed adjacent for conscionable 1 time without explosions. Just to instrumentality the kids somewhere, to a buying mall, to a playground, to immoderate attractions," she said.

"We imagination of the warfare being over, oregon astatine slightest a impermanent ceasefire, due to the fact that my children are exhausted. The nerves, the medications, the sleepless nights. It's excessively much."

Residents of the Ukrainian superior Kyiv were kept awake successful the aboriginal hours of Wednesday greeting by Russian drone and rocket strikes connected the city. A ballistic rocket was successfully changeable down by aerial defence systems but a drone deed a artifact of flats, sidesplitting a parent and her lad and injuring astatine slightest six more, including a child.

The politician of Moscow said connected Wednesday that Russian aerial defences had downed 14 Ukrainian drones overnight. The Kremlin said that the drone attacks had nary bearing connected its plans to intermission warring for 3 days.

The intermission is not being taken earnestly successful Ukraine, for the astir part. It has been greeted alternatively arsenic much of a propaganda exercise. Pavlo Klimkin, the erstwhile overseas curate of Ukraine, told the BBC it was simply different Russian amusement of force.

"This is each astir Russia framing the docket connected its ain terms," Klimkin said. "It has thing to bash with a existent ceasefire. It is each astir messaging – messaging internally, messaging to the US, messaging to Europe to accidental that we, Russia, are successful control."

Talks directed astatine a important ceasefire process began backmost successful February, with US President Donald Trump sending officials to negociate separately with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine has since agreed to a US connection for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, Russia has not.

The months since person been a deadly play successful the war. Russia has intensively targeted Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles, sidesplitting 19 radical including 9 children past period successful a onslaught connected a playground successful Kryvyi Rih and 35 radical a week aboriginal successful an Easter onslaught connected the metropolis of Sumy.

According to the UN, astatine slightest 848 civilians were killed betwixt 1 and 24 April - a 46% summation connected the aforesaid play past year.

The level of civilian deaths meant that immoderate ceasefire should beryllium accepted, adjacent connected Russian terms, said Oleksii Kamchatnyi, 38, a idiosyncratic surviving successful Kyiv.

"It is astir redeeming lives," Mr Kamchatnyi said. "I'm primitively from Donbas, from Pokrovsk. I managed to evacuate my parent but my begetter stayed there. I haven't had immoderate interaction with him since 9 March."

Still, Mr Kamchatnyi supported the impermanent ceasefire, helium said, "even if it means giving up territory."

Ukrainian polling suggests that a bulk of the nationalist would judge the thought of ceding immoderate power of territory seized by the Russians during the full-scale invasion, though not surrendering ceremonial sovereignty implicit the land, according to Anton Grushetsky, manager of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

"There is for surely a batch of fatigue and determination is simply a batch of tendency to person a unchangeable bid successful Ukraine," Mr Grushetsky said.

But based connected erstwhile polling, the bulk of Ukrainians would apt presumption the projected three-day ceasefire arsenic "either a trap oregon simply a ploy to debar attacks connected Moscow during the holiday", helium added.

There is besides suspicion among galore successful Ukraine that the ceasefire connection is simply a ploy by Russia to determination its forces to strategical places connected the battlefield, marque reinforcements wherever needed, and hole for offensives.

Ukraine had already made wide that it was acceptable for a full, unconditional ceasefire, and had nary work to instrumentality portion successful Russia's agenda, said Mykhailo Samus, a Ukrainian subject expert and manager of the New Geopolitics Research Network.

"Why would we play Putin's game? We are acceptable for a existent ceasefire," Mr Samus said. "If helium wants to organise a parade to amusement that helium is simply a large leader, that is his business."