Since the morning, the number of attacks carried out by the aggressor has reached 51, according to the Ukrainian military. Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated, “Despite the ceasefire declaration, Ukrainian armed groups have launched attacks using drones and artillery.” Drones sent by Russia killed two civilians and injured three in the regions of Zaporijjia and Dnipropetrovsk in central Ukraine, as reported by local authorities.
The exchange of prisoners was in question following an announcement on Friday by Donald Trump, where both Kiev and Moscow confirmed their acceptance of a ceasefire and the prisoner exchange. However, Vladimir Putin stated on Saturday evening that Russia had not yet received a proposal from Ukraine regarding the exchange. “We rely on the Ukrainian side to respond to the proposal made by the President of the United States. Unfortunately, we have not yet received any proposals to date,” Vladimir Putin told journalists.
Vladimir Putin also claimed that the war in Ukraine was “coming to an end” and criticized Western countries for their support to Kiev. He had denounced on Saturday morning, during a brief speech on Red Square for the commemorations of May 9, 1945, the fact that his army was facing “aggressive” forces supported by NATO in Ukraine. The parade was marked by the absence of military equipment such as tanks and missile launchers that usually parade through the central square of Moscow.
The leader spoke in front of hundreds of soldiers standing on the main square of Moscow. North Korean military personnel, who helped Moscow drive Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region in the spring of 2025, took part in these commemorations. The parade was held under tight security, with mobile internet suspended in central Moscow. These commemorations are a highly symbolic event allowing Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for twenty-six years, to mobilize the memory of the Soviet victory and rally the Russian population behind the military campaign in Ukraine.
“We must drive the Ukrainians out of our territory,” said Lidia, an 82-year-old retired Russian woman, echoing the Kremlin’s discourse claiming the annexation of regions in eastern and southern Ukraine, including Donbass.
In Kiev, MikhaAlo Porkhatchov, a 29-year-old Ukrainian, said that the Russians were not respecting the ceasefire. He recounted speaking on Saturday morning with his parents in Zaporijjia, about twenty kilometers from the front, who reported “explosions” and air sirens in the Ukrainian city.
Only the leaders of Belarus, Malaysia, Laos, and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico traveled to Moscow, according to the Kremlin. Discussions resumed this week between Ukrainian and American negotiators in Florida. These talks had taken a back seat since the start of the war in the Middle East. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope for the upcoming visit of American negotiators to Ukraine.
