President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that Ukraine stood by its offer to observe a 30-day ceasefire in its war with Russia, while Russia had made no response to the proposal.Zelenskiy was speaking in his nightly video address hours before a three-day ceasefire proposed by Russia was to go into effect to mark the anniversary of the World War Two victory over Nazi Germany.

Zelenskiy, speaking at a joint news conference in Prague alongside Czech President Petr Pavel, also said that Ukraine hopes to receive 1.8 million shells in 2025 under a Czech initiative to provide military assistance.

A three-day ceasefire declared by Russia came into effect on Thursday morning with skies over Ukraine's major cities quiet, in a change from successive nights of heavy attacks by Russian drones and ballistic missiles.