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Morning opening: Zelenskyy condemns ‘utter cynicism’ of Russian attacks amid truce talks
Jakub Krupa
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised Russia’s “utter cynicism” of launching more attacks on Ukraine while also calling for a short ceasefire enabling it to stage its 9 May Victory Parade in Moscow.
In a post on X condemning the latest series of attacks, he said:
“It is utter cynicism to ask for a ceasefire in order to hold propaganda celebrations while carrying out such missile and drone strikes every single day leading up to it. Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses. Peace is needed, and real steps are needed to achieve it. Ukraine will act in kind.”
The overnight attacks were primarily aimed at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, but killed four people and injured more, Zelenskyy said.
Earlier, Zelensky said that holding a ceasefire between 8 and 9 May so Moscow could hold the Victory Parade despite fears of a Ukrainian attack was “not serious”, and suggested an earlier truce starting already midnight (9pm GMT) on Tuesday.
“It is time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war, especially since Russia’s defence ministry believes it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine’s goodwill.”
There is nothing to suggest that Russia will abide by the proposed ceasefire.
Elsewhere, I will keep an eye on the EU leaders’ meeting in Yerevan, Armenia after the latest round of Donald Trump’s threats against European partners, and on a vote of no confidence in Romania’s prime minister Ilie Bolojan, which could see his government collapse this afternoon.
It’s Tuesday, 5 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key events
Russia limits mobile internet amid fears of Ukraine strikes on Victory Parade
Meanwhile, over in Russia, mobile internet services have been cut off to many customers in Moscow as part of the preparations for 9 May Victory Parade given concerns about a potential attack from Ukraine.
The Kremlin said the limits had been introduced to ensure security amid a heightened risk of Ukrainian drone attacks, but for many Russians they have complicated payments, navigation and communication, Reuters reported.
Russian mobile phone operators said there could be problems with mobile internet due to the need to ensure security over coming days. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, also cautioned that there could be issues with mobile internet and messaging, the agency added.
The restriction is the latest sign of Moscow’s concerns about a potential attack from Ukraine, after last week’s decision to host the parade without military hardware for the first time in almost two decades.
UK’s Starmer lauds benefit of joining EU’s €90bn loan for Ukraine as ‘some’ alliances ‘are not in place we would want them’
Another big topic of the Yerevan summits – which continue today after an earlier meeting of the European Political Community over the bank holiday weekend – is the UK’s willingness to join the EU’s €90bn loan for Ukraine.
Prime minister Keir Starmer has said the benefit of joining the European Union’s scheme for Ukraine “outweighs the cost” as he argued the continent must move at pace to bolster its own defence.
The prime minister, who said the UK’s involvement in the recovery loan plan would also help create jobs at home, acknowledged that tensions were high between Donald Trump and Europe, particularly over military issues.
As the Nato military alliance comes under intense pressure from Trump’s threats amid a difference in stances on the war in Iran, Starmer said: “We cannot deny that some of the alliances that we have come to rely on are not in the place we would want them to be.”
He continued:
“There is more tension in the alliances than there should be and it’s very important that we therefore face up to this as a group of countries together.”
EU ‘prepared for every scenario’ after Trump’s car tariff threats
Meanwhile, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, responded to US president Donald Trump’s latest threats on car tariffs.
Blindsiding Brussels late on Friday, a public holiday in much of Europe, Trump announced that he would be increasing tariffs on cars and lorries imported into the US from the EU from 15% to 25% from next week.
Speaking from Yerevan, where the EU-Armenia summit is taking place, von der Leyen said:
“A deal is a deal, and we have a deal, and the essence of this deal is prosperity, common rules and reliability. Now we are both implementing this deal while respecting the different democratic procedures we have on both sides.
On the European Union side, we are now in the final stages of implementing the remaining tariff commitments. At the same time, the US has the commitment, for example, where alignment with the agreed ceiling is still outstanding.
So we want from this work mutual gain, cooperation and reliability, and we are prepared for every scenario.”
Morning opening: Zelenskyy condemns ‘utter cynicism’ of Russian attacks amid truce talks
Jakub Krupa
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised Russia’s “utter cynicism” of launching more attacks on Ukraine while also calling for a short ceasefire enabling it to stage its 9 May Victory Parade in Moscow.
In a post on X condemning the latest series of attacks, he said:
“It is utter cynicism to ask for a ceasefire in order to hold propaganda celebrations while carrying out such missile and drone strikes every single day leading up to it. Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses. Peace is needed, and real steps are needed to achieve it. Ukraine will act in kind.”
The overnight attacks were primarily aimed at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, but killed four people and injured more, Zelenskyy said.
Earlier, Zelensky said that holding a ceasefire between 8 and 9 May so Moscow could hold the Victory Parade despite fears of a Ukrainian attack was “not serious”, and suggested an earlier truce starting already midnight (9pm GMT) on Tuesday.
“It is time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war, especially since Russia’s defence ministry believes it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine’s goodwill.”
There is nothing to suggest that Russia will abide by the proposed ceasefire.
Elsewhere, I will keep an eye on the EU leaders’ meeting in Yerevan, Armenia after the latest round of Donald Trump’s threats against European partners, and on a vote of no confidence in Romania’s prime minister Ilie Bolojan, which could see his government collapse this afternoon.
It’s Tuesday, 5 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
