Vladimir Putin’s unilateral Easter ceasefire turned out to be — not that anyone was surprised — a big, fat red herring: a distraction from his continuing refusal to negotiate seriously any meaningful peace terms with Ukraine.

So now, to “prove” his sincerity, he is offering, not just a single day, but a three-day temporary ceasefire . . . this time to allow him to enjoy Russia’s annual Victory Day celebrations on May 8th: the 80th anniversary of what is called in his country “the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.”

The statement issued today by the Kremlin on its official Telegram channel said:

“Based on humanitarian considerations, the Russian side declares a truce during the 80th anniversary of the Victory Day. For this period, all hostilities are stopped.” [David Brennan, GMA, April 28, 2025.]

Well, isn’t that special! But wait . . . there’s more:

“Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example. In the event of violations of the truce by the Ukrainian side, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will give an adequate and effective response.” [Id.]

Aha! The escape clause.

Are we really supposed to take this at face value? After all of the lies, the broken promises, the continued bombardments (even on Easter Sunday, during the so-called “ceasefire”) . . . is there any reason to believe that this time will be different?

And why just three days? If Putin is truly interested in “humanitarian considerations,” why not offer the 30 days suggested by the Ukrainian side? As Ukraine’s President Zelensky has said,

“ . . . [there is] no reason to wait [until May 8]. Russia has consistently rejected everything and continues to manipulate the world, trying to deceive the United States. Now, yet again, another attempt at manipulation: for some reason everyone is supposed to wait until May 8 before ceasing fire — just to provide Putin with silence for his parade.” [Id.]

Even the Trump administration isn’t satisfied with this latest hollow gesture from Putin. On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said:

“While President Trump welcomes Vladimir Putin’s willingness to pause the conflict, the president [Trump] has been very clear he wants a permanent ceasefire and to bring this conflict to a peaceful resolution.” [Darya Tarasova, Daria Tarasova-Markina, Edward Upright and Sana Noor Haq, CNN, April 28, 2025.]

But since April 19th, when Putin ordered the Easter ceasefire to take place the following day, at least 62 civilians have been killed and another 290 injured in Ukraine by Russian attacks. [Id.]

*. *. *

So what do we make of this latest exchange? Once again, I find that no one (least of all myself) can say it better than my favorite old reliable, William Shakespeare:

“It is a tale told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
– Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act V, Scene 5

Such is life . . . still today, five centuries later.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/28/25