Zelensky's Reaction to Russia's Ceasefire: Their Only Concern is Silence in Red Square

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a post on his social media account, noted that the Russian army has been conducting attacks with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), missiles, and air bombs since midnight. Zelensky stated, “From midnight to morning, approximately 100 assault UAVs, dozens of attack actions on key front lines, and dozens of air strikes were carried out. Significant damage was recorded to civilian infrastructure in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk, and Kherson regions. There were attacks on locomotives and infrastructure belonging to Ukrainian Railways. Ukraine's energy system continues to be a constant target of Russia.”

Emphasizing that Russia violated the proposed ceasefire as of May 6, Zelensky said, “All these show that Russia does not take the ceasefire seriously. Their only concern is the short-lived silence in Red Square. While Russia is obsessively fixated on just a few hours of silence in a part of Moscow, it continues to kill people. We had proposed a ceasefire to be effective from midnight on May 6. Yesterday and today, Russia violated this ceasefire.”

Stating that they will retaliate against the attacks but also keep the door open for diplomacy for peace, Zelensky said, “In response to Russian attacks, we will continue our long-term sanctions. In response to Russia's desire to turn to diplomacy, we will proceed on the diplomatic path. We need concrete steps to end this war, and peace will still be achieved, we are working for this. The only question is how much time will be lost due to Russia's madness.”