Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that his country stood by its offer to observe a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, while Russia's Foreign Ministry rejected suggestions that Moscow had opposed or was hindering efforts to introduce such a pause in hostilities.

Three-day ceasefire in Ukraine that was unilaterally declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month was set to come into effect at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday (midnight Moscow time), as Russia prepares to mark the anniversary of its World War II Victory Day on Friday.

Russia announced the start of a ceasefire with Ukraine, lasting for three days, as previously announced by Vladimir Putin, according to Russian media. Despite the lack of official confirmation from the Ministry of Defense,