The Ukraine conflict has entered another critical tipping point, with experts suggesting that it could either pave the way for the settlement or trigger Russia to escalate its military operations further as Putin’s 72-hour truce deal goes into effect from Thursday.
Putin earlier reiterated that this would possibly indicate whether Kyiv truly wants peace or war in the coming days.
Experts view the 72-hour peace deal as one of the most crucial moments in the war as Russia kicks off its Victory Day celebrations with the Chinese president being the special guest of Honour.
However, Zelensky again raised suspicions about the deal, despite China's Xi Jinping, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, in Moscow for commemorations of the end of World War II.
Putin ordered the move to coincide with Moscow's Victory Day parade on Friday. Ukraine never agreed to the proposal, has dismissed it as theatrics, and called instead for a 30-day ceasefire.
While US President Donald Trump has sought to end Russia’s military assault on Ukraine since taking office in January, he also failed to ease hostilities between the enemies.
The US government also threatened to end mediation in case the two fighting countries fail to enter into a logical ceasefire deal.
Hours after Putin’s 72-hour ceasefire deal was likely to go into effect, Kyiv staged aerial attacks, prompting airport closures in Russia and leaving at least two dead in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has said Russian forces will honour Putin's order for the duration of the holiday but will respond "immediately" if Ukraine launches any fire.
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"We are not withdrawing this proposal, which could give diplomacy a chance. But the world is not seeing any response from Russia," he said.
With Ukraine being the reluctant one, reports indicate that the White House has become frustrated at the lack of progress towards a meaningful dialogue between the two foes.
US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday called on the two to enter direct talks. "We think it's probably impossible for us to mediate this entirely without at least some direct negotiation between the two," he said.
Meanwhile, more than 20 world leaders were expected in Moscow for the May 9 parade.
"Our military and special services are taking all necessary measures to ensure that the celebration of the great victory takes place in a calm, stable, and peaceful atmosphere," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Ukraine launched a barrage of drones at Russia earlier in the day, forcing airports to halt traffic, with 60,000 people seeing their flights disrupted, according to Moscow.
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