Russia and Ukraine confirm three-day ceasefire from 9 May
Both sides also confirm prisoner swap which Donald Trump announced along with suspension of all ‘kinetic activity’ between the warring states
Donald Trump has announced a three-day ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine from 9 to 11 May.
The US president said on social media the ceasefire would include a suspension of all “kinetic activity” and a swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country. It was confirmed by both sides.
Trump said in his post: “Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” adding that there was constant progress in talks to end the conflict.
Russia had previously announced a two-day unilateral ceasefire to mark its 9 May second world war Victory Day on Saturday. Ukraine previously said that it too had offered a truce but that this had been ignored by Moscow.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed Trump’s announcement and the prisoner swap on Friday night, writing on Telegram: “We received Russia’s agreement to conduct a prisoner exchange in the format of 1,000 for 1,000. A ceasefire regime must also be established on May 9, 10, and 11.”
Zelenskyy later wrote on X: “In recent days, there have been many appeals and signals regarding the setup for tomorrow in Moscow in connection with our Ukrainian long-range sanctions. The principle of symmetry in our actions is well known and has been clearly communicated to the Russian side.
“An additional argument for Ukraine in determining our position has always been the resolution of one of the key humanitarian issues of this war – namely, the release of prisoners of war. Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be brought home.”
He added: “I thank the president of the United States and his team for their productive diplomatic involvement. We expect the United States to ensure that the Russian side fulfills these agreements.”
Ukraine had never before said it would abide by Moscow’s call to briefly halt strikes, lambasting Putin for wanting to pause fighting only so he could stage Saturday’s annual military parade on Red Square.
Kyiv said Moscow had ignored a Ukrainian proposal to halt fighting earlier this week – a counter-offer for a short-term ceasefire. Zelenskyy had cast it as a test of whether the Kremlin was serious about providing a brief respite in the four-year war.
Russia on Friday confirmed the truce and the POW swap. Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said: “I confirm the acceptability for the Russian side of the initiative just proposed by US president Donald Trump, concerning a ceasefire for a prisoner-of-war exchange between Russia and Ukraine.”
Russia had threatened a massive strike on the heart of Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the Victory Day parade, repeatedly urging foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital beforehand.
Moscow and Kyiv have both accused each other of violating previous ceasefires that each has separately declared.
[Source: The Guardian]
