The Kremlin has declared a full ceasefire in Ukraine from May 8 to 10 as Russia celebrates WWII “Victory Day” over Nazi Germany on May 9. The Kremlin said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the full cessation of hostilities on “humanitarian grounds.” It comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has scaled up efforts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine.
Secretary of State Rubio told NBC’s Meet the Press that the days ahead are crucial if there’s any hope in negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine War.
“This week is going to be a really important week. There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic of course as well. We’re close, but we’re not close enough,” Rubio said.
President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Rome on Saturday before the funeral service for Pope Francis in the Vatican. Later, when he met with Britain’s Prime Minister, reporters asked Zelenskyy how his meeting went with President Trump. He responded, “Really well. Productive meeting.”
But Ukraine and Russia are far apart on the return of Crimea. A Trump proposal that includes recognizing Russian authority over Crimea has shocked Ukrainian officials, who say they will not accept any formal surrender of the territory.
The Russians invaded and “annexed” the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the Kremlin is “ready to reach a deal” with Ukraine, but he made it clear on CBS’ Face the Nation that Russia is not giving back Crimea “because this is a done deal.”
President Trump, after castigating Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office a few weeks ago, now sounds as if the continued Russian attacks in Ukraine have changed his view.
He posted on Truth Social, “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through Banking or Secondary Sanctions. Too many people are dying!!!”
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana suggested Sunday Trump has been “played” by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Putin has reneged on every promise he made to President Trump. He has jacked around President Trump at every turn; he has disrespected our president. I don’t think it’s going to get any better until we make it clear to Mr. Putin that we are willing to turn him and his country into fish food,” he said.
The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), said Sunday that Trump made an enormous mistake by attacking Zelenskyy.
“What Donald Trump did on Ukraine was he came into office and appeased Putin from day one. But by attacking Zelenskyy and appeasing Putin, he gave Putin a huge open door to walk through,” Smith said.
Secretary of State Rubio said both Ukraine and Russia need to be “grownups” and realize they’ll both have to give something up to end the war.
