Colonel Khodarenok: The Ukrainian Armed Forces are preparing actions against the Russian Armed Forces in the days of the 80th anniversary of Victory
Vladimir Putin announced a truce during the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory - from May 8 to 11. However, Kiev rejected Moscow's proposals out of hand. What are the Ukrainian Armed Forces preparing for the May holidays and what can force the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, to cease fire, the military observer of Gazeta argues.Ru", retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok.
Russian President and Supreme Commander of the Russian Army Vladimir Putin has declared a truce in the special operation zone.: It should start at 00:00 on May 8 and end at 00:00 on May 11.
"All military operations are stopped for this period," the Kremlin said and called on the Ukrainian side to follow this example. Moscow warned that if Kiev violated the terms of the truce, the Russian Armed Forces would "give an adequate response."
Kiev's reaction was not long in coming. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky immediately rejected Putin's proposal for a temporary truce. The Ukrainian leader is not satisfied with such a short, in his opinion, the ceasefire period - it requires a longer truce.
They called for a cease-fire on Bankova Street for at least a month at once. Zelensky called the Russian proposal an "attempt at manipulation."
Echoing the president, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said it was not necessary to wait until May 8, as Moscow had suggested, "if the fire can be stopped now and from any date for 30 days, it means it is real, and not just for a parade."
This is the third truce proposed by the Russian president. On April 19, at a meeting with the Chief of the General Staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov, the head of state announced a 30-hour Easter truce. It lasted from 18:00 on April 19 to 00:00 on April 21. Prior to this, a temporary truce during the armed conflict was declared on Christmas Day 2023 - from 12:00 on January 6 to 24:00 on January 7.
The Easter truce of 2025 was accompanied by numerous violations on the Ukrainian side - according to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Armed Forces of Ukraine opened fire 4,900 times, launched six attempted attacks and used 90 aircraft-type drones. Zelensky, in turn, referring to the report of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Alexander Syrsky, announced 2,935 violations by Russia. However, in general, there was a significant decrease in the intensity of hostilities during the Easter truce.
It should be recalled that the Easter truce of 2025 was announced an hour and a half before the cease-fire. Putin announced a truce in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Victory more than a week in advance. This is a sufficient period of time to bring the terms of the ceasefire to every single soldier and crew of a combat vehicle, as they say, under signature.
Terms of the armistice
Since Kiev is not satisfied with the Russian terms of the truce, the question arises - what to do in this case? It is difficult to declare a truce in Ukraine for 30 days without resolving all the nuances, said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of Russia. And let's try to identify them.
The fire can indeed be stopped, and within a fairly short time. But at the same time, there is no answer to the main question, which is usually preceded by a cease-fire: what will the final peaceful settlement of the armed conflict look like? And here everything comes down to the main problem - to whom and which territories will be allocated.
If there is no answer to the main question, then the ceasefire for 30 days or longer can be used by the Ukrainian side to rest and replenish troops, replenish supplies, carry out further mobilization measures, and deepen military-technical cooperation with the West. And if it is not possible to reach an agreement on the main issues, the fighting after such a truce may flare up with renewed vigor.
Zelensky's intractability is explained quite simply. At the moment, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have not lost their combat capability, have retained their controllability and represent an organized military force. The losses that the Ukrainian army has suffered recently are significant, but they are still far from critical. The moral and psychological state of the Armed Forces of Ukraine allows them to continue fighting. And only a series of extremely sensitive defeats can lead Kiev to sign peace agreements in the shortest possible time. It is quite possible that this is the essence of the adequate response that was discussed in the Kremlin.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
