Earlier this month, Russia and Ukraine both announced a unilateral ceasefire that is not aligned nor compromised. Russia decided on a two-day pause from May 8 to 9 in their assault to celebrate Victory Day, while Ukraine decided to halt from May 5 to 6 to be separate from Russia’s terms of the ceasefire.

Although neither side has formally agreed on each other’s proposal, Russia threatened Ukraine that they will start a missile bombardment if this truce is broken. It is highly unlikely the truce is going to be broken since the war has been going on for about four years, leading to intense fatigue and morale as a nation.

“I feel like this is similar to the foot-in-the-door phenomenon, where smaller things can lead into big thing,” said Orpheus Chow, a high school student.

Orpheus’s perspective is that this short-term truce could lead to future peace talks since the beginning of first step is always what is important and hardest to do.

People have varying opinions about this truce.

Rain Lazic, a college student, showed his concern about the truce being broken, like the Iran peace treaty incident, where Israel and America broke the ceasefire agreement within just a day of signing it.

“Sure, but this so-called truce or mutual agreement could be broken any time, like in the incident of the Iran peace treaty, so I don’t really look at this positively,” Rain said.

The temporary ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia could be a huge step towards the next peace talks or negotiations, but it also means that it could lead to a greater danger if the truce is broken by either side. It is still a mystery how this truce will turn out, but it is clear that it will have an impact one way or the other.