Ukrainians see Russian calm

Russia is expected to start a three -day stop in fighting against Ukraine on Wednesday night, in a move that mocked many Ukrainians and described by President Folodimir Zellinski as more than a “theatrical performance”.

Vladimir Putin proposed Russia to a three-day ceasefire to coincide with the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe-a public holiday in Russia on Friday known as victory day.

But when doing this, Putin refused a major proposal from the Trump administration for a 30-day ceasefire-a proposal that Ukraine accepted.

Zelensky, in turn, rejected the ceasefire in Russia for three days, and said that Ukraine would not guarantee the safety of a festive military procession in the Red Square in Moscow on May 9.

The Russian proposal has been met with a widespread irony in Ukraine, as opinion polls constantly indicate that about 95 % of the population does not trust Russia.

“I don’t think there will be any ceasefire,” said Titiana Konqratinko, 42, a store company in the village of Khutin in Sumi, an area that has been bombed six miles (10 km) from the Russian border.

“Recently, the bombing has intensified, for half of the day, we heard a boom after prosperity,” Ms. Konqratinko said in an interview over the phone.

She added that Zelensky was right to reject the suggestion “because you know how to work, like what happened on Easter,” referring to the Russians.

“They announced the ceasefire, then they used it to bring more equipment and began to attack again. What kind of ceasefire is this?”

Last month, about Easter, Russia proposed a similar stop for 30 hours in hostilities, but Ukraine later accused of violating its proposed truce nearly 3000 times.

On that occasion, instead of directly rejecting the proposal, Ukraine said it would reflect Russia’s actions.

A senior Ukrainian military officer told the BBC while the front lines units received an order to stop shooting at Russian positions, but to record evidence of Russian violations and re -fire if necessary.

By Wednesday, Ukrainian officials did not say categorically whether they would modify their military action during the three -day period. When asked whether the Ukrainian forces were planning to continue the military operations, a source in the BBC presidential office said: “We will see.”

From the village of Novosofiivka, in the Zaporizhzia area that it achieved very badly, Antonina Sienina, 35, said that any ceasefire is worth agreeing to “solid guarantees” for Ukraine and sovereignty – not something included in Putin’s plan for the next three days.

But Mrs. Sinaina had mixed feelings. She added that her parents were killed in a Russian strike, and her brother was injured, and her village was bombed, so “it may not have been right to reject” the proposal for three days.

She said, “Because, frankly, we will be happy for only one day without explosions. Only to take children somewhere, to a commercial center, to a stadium, to some attractions.”

“We dream that the war ends, or at least the temporary ceasefire, because my children are exhausted. Nerves, medicines, and nights without sleep. They are too much.”

The residents of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, were awake in the early hours of Wednesday morning by Russian unmanned unmanned and missile strikes in the city. A ballistic missile was successfully shot by air defense systems, but a drone hit a mass of apartments, killing the mother and her son and wounding at least six others, including a child.

The mayor of Moscow said on Wednesday that the Russian air defenses had shot down 14 Ukrainian drones overnight. The Kremlin said that the drone attacks had no effect on its plans to stop fighting for three days.

It is not temporarily stopped in Ukraine, mostly. It has been received instead with more advertising exercise. Pavlo Clememene, former Foreign Minister of Ukraine, told the BBC that it was just another Russian offer to force.

“All this is related to Russia framing the agenda on its own terms,” ​​said Cleemkin. “It has nothing to do with the real shooting. It is all related to messages – the correspondence internally, the messages to the United States, and the messages to Europe to say that we, Russia, control.”

The talks to the ceasefire started in February, when US President Donald Trump sent officials to negotiate separately with Russia and Ukraine leaders. Ukraine has since agreed to an American unlawful ceasefire proposal for 30 days, Russia has not done.

The most famous for a deadly time was in the war. Russia has intensively targeted Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles, killing 19 people, including nine children last month in a blow to a stadium in Kryvyi Rih and 35 people a week after a week in the Easter strike in Sumi.

According to the United Nations, at least 848 civilians were killed between 1 and 24 April – an increase of 46 % in the same period last year.

Octie Camchini, 38, a scientist who lives in Kiev, said that the level of civilian deaths means that any ceasefire should be accepted, even according to Russian.

“It is related to saving souls,” said Mr. Kamchatnyi. “I am already from Donbas, from Boukerrovsk. I managed to evacuate my mother but my father stayed there. I have not contacted him since March 9.”

However, Mr. Kamchatnyi supported temporary shooting, “even if that means giving up land.”

Ukrainian voting indicates that the majority of the public will accept the idea of ​​giving up some control over the lands that the Russians seized during the complete invasion, despite the lack of surrender of official sovereignty on the ground, according to Anton Grochetski, director of the International Institute for Sociology.

“There is definitely a lot of fatigue and there is a great desire to obtain a stable peace in Ukraine,” said Mr. Jocheski.

But based on the previous ballot, the majority of Ukrainians are likely to view the ceasefire for three days as “either a trap or just a trick to avoid attacks on Moscow during the holiday.”

There are also doubts between many in Ukraine that the suggestion of the ceasefire is just a trick from Russia to transfer its forces to strategic places in the battlefield, make reinforcements when needed, and prepare for attacks.

Mikhailo Samos, Ukrainian military analyst and director of the new Cesarian Geo Research Network, said that Ukraine has already made it clear that it was ready for a complete and unconditional ceasefire, and was not obligated to participate in the Russian agenda.

“Why do we play Putin? We are ready for a real shooting,” said Samos. “If he wants to organize an offer to show that he is a great leader, this is his work.”

Daria Metok contributed to this report.