To mark the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine starting from midnight of May 7-8 and urged the Kiev regime to follow suit.

“It will be in effect from midnight of May 7-8 until midnight of May 10-11; all military actions will cease during this period. Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example; in the event of ceasefire violations by Kiev, Russian troops will give an adequate and effective response.

“Moscow once again declares its readiness for peace talks without preconditions, aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and constructive interaction with international partners,” a Kremlin statement said.

Russia celebrates victory over Nazi Germany on May 9 in which more than 27 million Soviet people had died in the “Great Patriotic War”.

Russia has invited many world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to attend the Red Square parade.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has accepted the invitation but India is yet to decide who will represent it at the V-Day parade.

Earlier, the Kremlin had declared a 36-hour truce on Easter Sunday, reluctantly joined by Kiev. However, both sides accused each other of its violation. Russia had accused Ukraine of 4,900 violations.

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