Warta Kema – The ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was announced by Trump in his new Truth Social post on Thursday (08/05). The truce includes a halt to all military operations, as well as the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each country for only three days, as noted by Al Jazeera. Yuri Ushakov, the Russian spokesperson, stated to the Russian media that this agreement was intentionally scheduled to coincide with the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany during World War II, known as Victory Day.

Ushakov said “an agreement on this matter was reached during our telephone contacts with the US administration. In turn, US representatives were in contact with Ukraine”. Then, he added “the two presidents also discussed the possibility of a ceasefire during the Victory Day celebrations.”

According to BBC, Victory Day is one of the most important holidays in Russia, held on 9 May every year. The holiday was established to celebrate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany and to commemorate the 27 million Soviet citizens who died in World War II. This important day has become an annual event for Russia to showcase their military capacities with a huge parade through Red Square and foreign officials from across the world.

Al-Jazeera reported from Moscow that this year’s celebration was different from the previous year due to the operational situation of war between Russia and Ukraine. Instead of tanks, missiles, and other military vehicles like usual, the government showed a video of Russian military equipment deployed to Ukraine as a replacement for the parade performance. “Our tanks are busy right now,” Russian Parliament Yevgeny Popov told the BBC reporter. “They are fighting. We need them more on the battlefield than on Red Square.”

According to Al-Jazeera, aside from the reduced military display on the Parade, military personnel still marched in large numbers for around 45 minutes across the Red Square in Moscow. Some of them were a column of North Korean soldiers, as one of Russia’s closest allies throughout the war. The BBC also reported that some locals took part in marches as well. They featured the Victory Day with marching celebrations across cities in Russia to commemorate the war veterans.

According to a report by Eurinews, in contrast to previous years, the list of invited and attending state representatives was lower. Of the five Central Asian former Soviet countries that had consistently attended the celebrations from 2023 to 2025, only Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were present this year. Malaysia and Laos were the Southeast Asian countries that participated in Russia’s Victory Day parade. In addition, officials from Belarus, Republika Srpska, and several other entities were also present, including Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia, who was the only European Union leader to attend the parade.

In his Victory Day speech, Putin invoked history. “The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today,” he continued by criticising North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), referring to the current situation of the war. “They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the whole bloc of NATO. And despite this, our heroes move forward.”

Despite the temporary ceasefire, tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain high. BBC noted that afterwards, Russia’s defence ministry claimed Ukraine had violated the truce. This claim had been rejected by Zelensky as the President of Ukraine, while also questioning Moscow’s commitment to a genuine ceasefire. As the truce expired on Tuesday (12/05), Al-Jazeera reported that more than 200 drones were used to attack Ukraine overnight. Later, Russian officials admitted that “the humanitarian ceasefire has ended, so the special military operation is continuing.”

Reporter: Abir Azra Larasati

Editor: Khayla Dinda Pradwina, Elga Thalita Perangin Angin, Fernaldhy Rossi Armanda