US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) announced a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine from May 9 to May 11.
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Trump announced the ceasefire in a Truth Social post, writing: “I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY Ceasefire (May 9th, 10th and 11th) in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The celebration in Russia is for Victory Day, but so is Ukraine as they were also a big part and factor in WWII.”
My request for a truce: Trump
The US president added: “This ceasefire will include the suspension of all kinetic activity as well as the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each country. This request was made directly by me and I greatly appreciate its approval by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky. Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the very long, deadly and hard-fought largest conflict war since World War II. They are getting closer and closer every day.”
Ukrainian president thanks Trump
After Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Trump for suspending the war, which has been in place since February 2022, in a post on X. Zelenskyy wrote: “As part of the negotiation process mediated by the US side, we received Russia’s consent to conduct a prisoner exchange, regime A1, must00000. also be established on May 9, 10 and 11. Ukraine she is consistently working to bring her people home from Russian captivity.”
He added: “I thank the President of the United States and his team for their productive diplomatic engagement. We expect the United States to ensure that the Russian side honors these agreements.”
Russia declared a two-day ceasefire
According to reports, Moscow had earlier announced a two-day unilateral ceasefire to mark its May 9 World War II Victory Day on Saturday. Separately, Ukraine previously said it had also offered a ceasefire, but was ignored by Moscow.
Read also | Russia urges foreigners to leave Kyiv amid threat of Victory Day
After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 29, Trump said a temporary truce was in the works, according to a Reuters report. Putin announced a similar truce last year that lasted three days but was not agreed with Kyiv.
Russia-Ukraine launched drone strikes
On Friday, Bloomberg reported that Russia and Ukraine launched drone strikes overnight, casting doubt on whether Moscow’s unilateral ceasefire will be implemented.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces intercepted 264 Ukrainian drones between midnight and 7 a.m. (local time), including some over the capital region. Moscow had previously said it would halt combat operations and long-range attacks as part of a self-declared ceasefire on May 8-9, but warned it would respond to Ukrainian attacks.
In a post on X, Zelensky wrote that Russia launched over 140 strikes on Ukrainian frontline positions overnight and attempted 10 attacks, mostly against positions near Slovyansk. Kyiv also noted that Moscow attacked several regions with dozens of drones overnight.
“All this clearly shows that there was not even any attempt at a ceasefire on the Russian side,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine would continue to react in the same way and defend itself.
