Donald Trump has announced a three-day ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, scheduled to take place from May 9 to May 11. The former US president utilized his social media platform, Truth Social, to convey that this ceasefire would encompass a complete cessation of all “kinetic activity” and facilitate a significant prisoner exchange, involving 1,000 captives from each nation. Trump expressed optimism, stating that this initiative could mark “the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” and highlighted continuous progress in discussions aimed at resolving the conflict.

Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, corroborated Trump’s announcement and the proposed prisoner swap via Telegram. Zelenskyy confirmed that an agreement had been reached with Russia for a prisoner exchange in a “1,000 for 1,000” format, and reiterated the establishment of a ceasefire regime on May 9, 10, and 11. Later, on X, Zelenskyy elaborated on Ukraine’s stance, referencing appeals and signals regarding upcoming events in Moscow related to Ukrainian long-range sanctions. He underscored the principle of symmetry in Ukraine’s actions and emphasized that the resolution of key humanitarian issues, specifically the release of prisoners of war, has always been a critical factor in determining Ukraine’s position. Zelenskyy further remarked on the humanitarian aspect, stating that the lives of Ukrainian prisoners are more important than Red Square, and extended gratitude to the US President and his team for their productive diplomatic involvement, expressing an expectation for the United States to ensure Russian compliance with these agreements.

This announcement comes in the context of previous, often fraught, attempts at ceasefires. Russia had earlier declared a two-day unilateral ceasefire to observe its May 9 Second World War Victory Day. Ukraine had also previously offered a truce, which it claimed Moscow had disregarded. Historically, Ukraine had been critical of Moscow’s calls for temporary halts in fighting, particularly when linked to events like the annual military parade on Red Square, viewing such moves as disingenuous. Kyiv had previously made a counter-offer for a short-term ceasefire, which it described as a test of the Kremlin’s seriousness in providing a brief respite in the four-year war, but this was reportedly ignored by Moscow. Both Moscow and Kyiv have, on different occasions, accused each other of violating earlier declared ceasefires. As of the report, there has been no official comment from Russia regarding Trump’s latest announcement.