As the clock approached the time the Kremlin said its guns would fall silent for three days, the men at the National Guard monitoring center in eastern Ukraine had absolutely no faith in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ceasefire.

Russia has violated its own ceasefire more than 700 times in the hours between midnight and midday on Thursday. Ukraine's foreign minister charged. "Predictably, Putin's 'Parade ceasefire' proves to be a farce,

Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of violating a three-day ceasefire which was declared by Vladimir Putin last week and came into effect on Thursday.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement “further deepening” their partnership following talks in Moscow Thursday – a show of solidarity in the face of global uncertainties unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s “America First” diplomacy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on May 8 and held his first meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti reported. Xi is one of 27 leaders expected to attend the Victory Day parade in the Russian capital on May 9.

By Andrew Osborn and Laurie Chen (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping flew into Moscow on Wednesday for talks with President Vladimir Putin and a pomp-filled visit that Kyiv has made clear it opposes after Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow shortly before he touched down.