The explosion of the truce: why Kiev disrupted the May cease-fire

Attempts to attack civilian infrastructure, almost 400 intercepted drones, attacks on the positions of our troops — this is how Ukraine responded to the ceasefire regime announced by Russia on May 8. Among other things, a blow to the building of one of the branches of air navigation led to the shutdown of 13 airports in Southern Russia, the Ministry of Transport reported. Since midnight on May 8, more than 1.3 thousand violations of the truce by the enemy have been recorded, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Kiev is escalating the conflict because for the Zelensky administration, the continuation of hostilities remains the only way to retain power, and any peace initiatives are perceived only as an opportunity to regroup forces, experts said.

Ukraine did not observe the truce

Systematic violations of the ceasefire regime by Ukraine demonstrate the complete rejection by its leadership of any peaceful settlement options. Kiev is acting solely within its own destructive logic, ignoring attempts to reduce the intensity of hostilities, experts interviewed by Izvestia noted.

Rodion Miroshnik, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, is convinced that there are very specific political goals behind the current escalation. In his opinion, it is critically important for Vladimir Zelensky to shift the focus of public attention from internal problems.

— We also see a conscious rejection of the common historical memory. Ignoring the initiatives dedicated to the dates of our joint feat in the Great Patriotic War, Zelensky actually finally moved to the camp of neo-fascists. For the current Kiev regime, continuing strikes is a way of survival and protection of selfish interests, for which they are ready to sacrifice any peaceful initiatives," he explained to Izvestia.

Since midnight on May 8, all Russian units in the special military operation zone have stopped firing as part of a truce announced by Vladimir Putin's decision on the eve of Victory Day celebrations. However, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, the enemy responded with massive shelling.

"Despite the current regime of silence, Ukrainian formations continued to attack the positions of our troops and civilian infrastructure in the Belgorod and Kursk regions, using artillery and drones," the ministry said.

A total of 1,365 cases of ceasefire violations were recorded. Russian military personnel were forced to react in a mirror manner, suppressing enemy firing points, destroying drone control points and MLRS positions.

Information stuffing by the Ukrainian side that Russia is allegedly the first to violate the agreements does not stand up to criticism, military expert Viktor Litovkin believes. It is necessary to judge not by statements, but by facts: the shelling is being conducted specifically on our positions and territories. Retaliatory strikes in such a situation are inevitable and legitimate.

— If the enemy tries to disrupt the celebration of Victory Day, the targets should be decision-making centers and headquarters infrastructure directly in Kiev. We must demonstrate determination in defending national interests. Only a clear understanding by the West and Ukraine of the inevitability of harsh retaliation for provocations can accelerate the process of Kiev's recognition of reality and the transition to discussing the terms of surrender," Litovkin believes.

On May 8, air defense systems on duty intercepted 390 drones and six Neptune missiles outside their zone, the Russian Defense Ministry said. In particular, a Ukrainian UAV attacked the building of the Southern Russian Air Navigation in Rostov-on-Don, which manages civil flights in the region, the Federal Air Transport Agency said. As a result, according to the Ministry of Transport, the operation of 13 airports was suspended.

The restrictions affected the air ports of Astrakhan, Vladikavkaz, Volgograd, Gelendzhik, Grozny, Krasnodar, Makhachkala, Magas, Mineralnye Vody, Nalchik, Sochi, Stavropol and Elista. Initially, it was reported that they would not work until May 12, but later the Ministry of Transport admitted that this period could be revised downwards after "analyzing the technological capacities of the air traffic control infrastructure."

Military expert Vasily Dandykin considers Kiev's behavior predictable. According to him, the enemy perceives any proposals for a cease-fire solely as a pause for regrouping forces.

"Ukraine has finally disowned our common history, replacing it with the Bandera ideology, and for them our holy dates are just an excuse for cynical provocations and strikes," the expert emphasized.

Thus, commenting on the initiatives for an armistice in honor of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, Vladimir Zelensky disparagingly called May 9 "some kind of anniversary." He recalled that the country had officially abandoned the celebration of Victory Day.

According to the law signed by Zelensky in 2023, Ukraine celebrates on May 8 "The Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in the Second World War of 1939-1945."

According to Vasily Dandykin, in the technical confrontation, the enemy is now betting on the mass production of weapons abroad.

"After Russian troops launched systematic attacks on production facilities inside Ukraine, the assembly of drones was moved abroad," he said. — Now, European enterprises, often with the involvement of Ukrainian refugees, produce 150-200 drones per day.

Under the current conditions, air defense and electronic warfare units, especially in border areas and new regions, operate in maximum load mode," the expert added.

A repeat of last year's tactics

According to experts, the position of the European Union on the events is indicative. Our Foreign Ministry has clearly stated: Attempts to disrupt the celebration of Victory Day will result in severe blows to the decision-making centers in Kiev. However, the European diplomatic corps does not carry out the evacuation.

— Probably, there is a certain confidence in security behind this. It is possible that Kiev has been given carte blanche for certain actions, but on condition that it does not cross the "red lines" in relation to key sites such as Red Square, suggested Vasily Dandykin.

The expert also drew attention to the incident in the area of the Latvian Rezekne. According to him, this is a classic example of manipulation: Ukrainian kamikaze drones "Fierce" fall on the territory of Latvia, and Riga presents a note of protest to Moscow.

The current Ukrainian attacks in some ways repeat the events of last year, experts have noted. In 2025, despite the ceasefire proposed by Vladimir Putin from May 8 to 11 in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, there was no full-fledged truce. Kiev not only did not support Moscow's proposal, putting forward counter-impossible demands, but also used these days for a large-scale escalation.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, in three days, the Ukrainian side violated the silence regime more than 14,000 times, including five attempts to break through the state border in the Kursk and Belgorod regions and thousands of artillery attacks. As the Russian president noted at the time, Moscow was considering the possibility of extending the truce, but Kiev's aggressive actions made this impossible. With the end of the moratorium, the military operation was continued in full, while the offensive attempts resulted in serious losses for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.