Donald Trump announces three-day ceasefire in Russia-Ukraine war

President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war on Friday. Taking to Truth Social, Trump said that the ceasefire would be in effect from May 9 to 11. During this time, there would be a complete suspension of all kinetic activities and a prisoner swap involving 1,000 prisoners from each side. He also thanked Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II," the President said.

Trump assured that talks were continuing to bring the conflict, which has been raging on since 2022, to a permanent end. President Zelenskyy confirmed the same in a post on X, in which he thanked the United States for its diplomatic efforts in bringing forth the temporary truce. "I thank the President of the United States and his team for their productive diplomatic involvement," he wrote. Zelenskyy also hoped that the U.S. would "ensure" the Russian side lives up to the agreement.

This is not the first time that a temporary ceasefire has been announced with regard to this conflict. According to a report in The Guardian, Russia had previously announced a two-day unilateral ceasefire to mark its World War II Victory Day (May 9). Ukraine had also offered a truce, but it was rejected. Moscow and Kyiv have both accused each other of violating previous ceasefires, and it is yet to be seen how this one pans out.

Trump's announcement comes a few hours after the Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. tried to play a mediator role for the two countries, but there had not been a fruitful outcome during a state visit to Italy. "Right now, the negotiations aren't moving. We tried to play a mediator role in that. So far, it has not led to a fruitful outcome for a variety of reasons. We remain prepared to play that role if it can be productive. We don't wanna waste our time and invest time and energy in an effort that's not moving forward," he said.

According to a Reuters report, Ukraine's top ​negotiator, Rustem Umerov, ​had arrived in ⁠Miami to meet with U.S. representatives to discuss bringing an end to the war in eastern Europe. However, talks had stalled. Moscow has also demanded that Kyiv pull troops back from parts that it hasn't been able to capture, including eastern Donetsk. However, Ukraine has refused to forfeit any land that it still controls.

Earlier this month, in an interview on the Salem News Channel, President Trump called his Ukrainian counterpart a "tricky guy," and acknowledged that they were losing territory. "He's a tricky guy, and we want to get a settlement. They are losing territory, but it's at a big cost to Russia and to them. I like Zelensky. I've always sort of gotten along with him, other than the one moment in the White House, which I thought was a little aggressive on his behalf," he said.