Russia and Ukraine Agree to U.S.-Brokered Three-Day Ceasefire as Trump Pushes for Extension
Russia and Ukraine confirmed that they had agreed to a U.S.-brokered three-day ceasefire that will run from May 9 to May 11, and U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped it would be extended.
Trump’s announcement of the temporary ceasefire on Truth Social earlier in the day also said each country, locked in more than four years of conflict, would exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.
“I’d like to see a big extension,” Trump told reporters on Friday evening. “It could be.”
Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused the other of violating ceasefires declared separately this week as Russia readies to hold a Victory Day parade on Sunday that marks the 1945 Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress in ending the Ukraine-Russia war, and a halt in fighting offers a bit of good news for the U.S. president, whose war against Iran with “Israel” has hurt his domestic approval rating. Efforts to end the Iran war, now in its third month, appeared stalled amid new flare-ups in fighting in the Gulf.
The Ukraine-Russia ceasefire would include a suspension of all “kinetic activity” and a swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“This request was made directly by me, and I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” he said in the post.
Trump added that talks were continuing to move towards an end of the war “and we are getting closer and closer every day”.
Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram, confirmed the ceasefire had been arranged as part of U.S. negotiating efforts and that humanitarian issues remained a key priority.
“That is why today, within the framework of the negotiation process mediated by the American side, we received Russia’s agreement to conduct a prisoner of war exchange in the format of 1,000 for 1,000,” Zelenskiy wrote.
Zelenskiy also issued a tongue-in-cheek decree “allowing” Russia’s May 9 military parade to proceed and saying Ukrainian weapons would not target Red Square. Russia has warned that any attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the Red Square parade on Saturday would trigger a massive missile strike on Kyiv.
Friday’s news followed what Zelenskiy described as substantive talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Miami, with U.S. envoys due to visit Kyiv in coming months.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, speaking to reporters on Putin’s behalf, said Russia had also agreed to Trump’s initiative.
“An agreement on this matter was reached during our telephone discussions with the U.S. administration,” he said.
