War in Ukraine: Putin's truce comes into effect, will it be respected?

Wednesday night into Thursday was relatively calm. The Ukrainian Air Force repeatedly reported guided aerial bombs launched by Russian aircraft on Sumy in the northeast, with no known impact.

Hours before the truce declared by Vladimir Putin came into effect at 11 p.m., Russia and Ukraine exchanged airstrikes, with missiles and dozens of drones shutting down airports on the Russian side and killing at least two people on the Ukrainian side.

The Kremlin said Russian forces would respect the ceasefire but would respond "immediately" if kyiv attacked.

In his Wednesday evening address, President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call for a 30-day truce. "We are not withdrawing this proposal, which could give diplomacy a chance. But the world is not seeing a response from Russia," he said.

Vladimir Putin announced the truce on April 28 in a "humanitarian" gesture , following pressure from the United States for Russia to end its assault on Ukraine since 2022. Since his inauguration in January, US President Donald Trump has attempted to broker a lasting ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv. But he has failed to secure major concessions from the Kremlin.

In March, Vladimir Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional ceasefire and has since offered only meager contributions to Trump's peace efforts. The White House is increasingly frustrated by this lack of progress.

"It is probably impossible for us to fully mediate without at least some direct negotiations between the two sides," US Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday.

Ukraine has said it does not believe Russia will adhere to the truce, and has accused Moscow of committing hundreds of violations during a previous 30-hour ceasefire ordered by the Russian president at Easter.

Ukrainian drone attacks

On Tuesday night, the Russian military fired five ballistic missiles and launched 187 drones at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, which claimed to have shot down two of these missiles and 81 drones. In Kyiv, a mother and her son were killed and seven other people were injured, including four children.

Ukraine, about 20 percent of whose territory is occupied by the Russian military, has stepped up drone attacks against Russia in recent days, disrupting airports in Moscow and other cities. As a result, at least 350 flights have been canceled or delayed since Tuesday, and at least 60,000 passengers have been affected, according to the Russian Tour Operators Association.

The attacks have raised concerns about the orderly conduct of the May 9 ceremonies. The first foreign leaders have begun arriving in Moscow, including Chinese President Xi Jinping , Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Concerns over May 9 commemorations

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that his country was taking "all necessary measures" to ensure the security of the commemorations, which will culminate in a military parade on Friday in Red Square.

President Zelensky warned that Ukraine could not guarantee the safety of leaders traveling to Moscow, and stressed that Russia had "right to be concerned" about the security of the parade.