Victory Day, celebrated on May 9, is Russia’s most important secular holiday, reflecting its wartime sacrifice. But it’s also used by the Kremlin to bolster patriotism and regain the superpower prestige it lost when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's order for a three-day truce with Ukraine took effect Thursday, a move the Kremlin said would test Kyiv's readiness for peace but that Ukraine has slammed as a farce.