Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a unilateral three-day ceasefire in Ukraine next month, a move met with skepticism by Ukrainian officials who demanded the Kremlin leader immediately accept a longer truce proposal from the United States that he has so far rejected.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a three-day ceasefire in May in the war with Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two.

Washington, Moscow and Europe have all produced conflicting ceasefire proposals this month, with two of the proposals appearing in the past week. The administration of US President Donald Trump presented Ukraine with its proposal on April 17,