US President Donald Trump has announced a three-day ceasefire and a major prisoner swap between Moscow and Kiev, expressing hopes the truce would become the “beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought war.”
Trump took to his Truth Social network on Friday to make the unexpected announcement. The US president said the ceasefire would be in place for May 9-11, with the two sides swapping 1,000 POWs each during the period.
“The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II,” Trump wrote, adding that the “request was made directly by me,” and both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky agreed to it.
Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov has confirmed the truce, stating that Moscow agreed to extend the ceasefire it announced for May 8-9 for the period mentioned by Trump, as well as to a major prisoner swap.
“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War. Talks are continuing on ending this Major Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day,” Trump added.
Trump later told NewsNation that he hoped the temporary truce would be extended beyond the initially announced three-day period. “I’d like to see a big extension,” he said when asked whether he planned further talks with Putin and Zelensky about continuing the ceasefire.
When asked by a reporter at the White House whether he would send his negotiating team to Moscow again, Trump replied: “I would do it if I thought it would help. I would do it.”
The US-led negotiations have included several rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi and Geneva focused on ceasefire proposals and prisoner exchanges. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has traveled to Moscow for meetings with Putin. The peace process, however, appears to be largely stalled, as major disagreements remain, particularly over territorial issues.