Russia and Ukraine confirmed yesterday that they had agreed to a three-day ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump that will run from today to Monday.
Trump’s announcement on Truth Social also said each country, locked in more than four years of conflict, would be exchanging 1,000 prisoners of war.
Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused the other of violating ceasefires declared separately this week as Russia readies to hold a Victory Day parade today 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 US 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 said.
“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 wrote.
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 US 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 military parade to proceed and saying Ukrainian weapons would not target Red Square.
Yesterday’s news followed what Zelenskiy described as substantive talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Miami, with US 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 US administration,” he said.
The two sides are still pummelling each other with missiles, drones and artillery, with no end to the war in sight. Peace talks are stalled, with Ukraine rejecting Putin’s demand that it surrender territory it has successfully defended since 2022.
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