Victory Day, one of Russia's most important patriotic holidays, marks the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and is traditionally celebrated with a major military parade in Moscow. Russia has proposed a May 8-9 ceasefire to coincide with the holiday, while Ukraine has called for an earlier pause starting overnight on May 5-6.

DW's Tomi Oladipo discusses both sides' strategic thinking with international affairs analyst Robert B. Murrett from Syracuse University.