Russia and Ukraine confirmed this Friday (8) that they have agreed to a three-day ceasefire, mediated by the United States, which will be in effect from May 9 to 11, and American President Donald Trump said he hopes it will be extended.
The social media platform earlier that day also reported that each country, involved in more than four years of conflict, would exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.
“I would like to see a […] That could happen,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House on Friday night.
Both Kiev and Moscow have accused each other of violating separately declared ceasefires this week, as Russia prepares to hold the Victory Day parade on May 9, which marks the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Trump has shown growing frustration with the lack of progress in ending the war between Ukraine and Russia, and the suspension of fighting represents slightly more positive news for the American president, whose war against Iran, in conjunction with Israel, has hurt his popularity at home.
The ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia would include the suspension of all “kinetic activity” and the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each country, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“This request was made directly by me, and I am very grateful for the agreement of President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. I hope this is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly and arduous war,” he said in the post.
Trump added that negotiations continue to move toward an end to the war “and we are getting closer every day.”
Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram, and that humanitarian issues remain a key priority.
“That is why today, within the framework of the negotiation process mediated by the United States, we received Russia’s agreement to carry out an exchange of prisoners of war on a thousand-for-thousand basis,” Zelensky wrote.
Zelensky also issued a tongue-in-cheek decree “allowing” the May 9 Russian military parade to proceed and stating that Ukrainian weapons would not target Red Square. Russia warned that any attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the parade in Red Square this Saturday (9) would trigger a massive missile attack on Kiev.
Friday’s news came after what Zelensky described as substantial talks between American and Ukrainian officials in Miami, with American envoys expected to visit Kiev in the coming months.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, speaking to reporters on Putin’s behalf, said Russia also agreed to Trump’s initiative.
“An agreement on this matter was reached during our telephone conversations with the American government,” he said.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses intercepted Ukrainian drones heading to the capital over a seven-hour period ending around 8pm local time (2pm in Brasília).
Since Trump announced the ceasefire, Moscow has issued only one warning to that effect.
Previously, Russia and Ukraine had accused each other of violating ceasefires that each had declared separately.
The two sides have attacked each other with missiles, drones and artillery, with no end in sight to the war. Peace talks are at a standstill, with Ukraine rejecting Putin’s demand that it cede territory it has successfully defended since 2022.
Separate ceasefire
Putin had unilaterally declared a two-day ceasefire, on Friday and Saturday, to coincide with celebrations of Victory Day – Russia’s most important national holiday.
Kiev responded that a ceasefire just for the holiday was inadequate and called instead for an indefinite truce, starting two days earlier, a proposal that Moscow ignored.
This year’s parade in Moscow — usually a demonstration of Russian military might with intercontinental ballistic missiles and tanks — .
Moscow’s troops have been fighting in Ukraine for more than four years — longer than the Soviet involvement, from 1941 to 1945, in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War.
Russia, which controls about 19.4% of Ukraine, has seen its advances slow this year, gaining just 700 square kilometers in the first four months of the year, according to pro-Ukrainian maps.
