Another ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine?

Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform a three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. Confirmed by both countries, this truce “will involve the suspension of all military operations, as well as an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each country,” the U.S. president said.

Donald Trump said he had requested the ceasefire from May 9 to 11 from the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who “agreed.”

“I hope this will be the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and bitterly contested war […] Talks are continuing to end this major conflict, the largest since World War II, and we are getting closer every day,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the U.S. president's announcement in a post on X.

“Red Square matters less to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be brought home,” he stated.

Zelensky said he is counting “on the United States to ensure that the Russian side respects these agreements” and hopes that U.S. negotiators will visit Ukraine in the coming weeks.

The head of state also ordered the Ukrainian military not to attack the May 9 parade in Moscow immediately after Trump's message was posted.

This date marks Victory Day in Russia, a celebration of Germany's surrender in 1945, according to a decree published on the presidency's website. The parade will take place without military equipment this year—for the first time in 20 years—the Kremlin announced last week.

The ceasefire announced by Trump was also confirmed by the Kremlin.

“I confirm that the Russian side accepts the initiative proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding a ceasefire for an exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine,” the Russian president's diplomatic adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters.

Moscow had already declared a ceasefire ahead of Russia's May 9 commemorations, but both Ukraine and Russia continued their drone attacks following this unilateral announcement.

Russia had already, for its part, declared a ceasefire from Friday to Sunday (May 8–10), but had called on the population and diplomats to leave Kyiv to avoid potential Russian strikes there if Ukraine were to disrupt its May 9 parade.

Both Ukraine and Russia, however, continued their drone attacks following this unilateral announcement.

The truce announced by the Kremlin therefore did not last long. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Moscow launched 67 long-range drones against the country overnight, its lowest figure in nearly a month.  

Moscow, for its part, stated on Friday that it had responded “symmetrically” to Ukraine's “violations” of the ceasefire.

Russian air defense reports having intercepted 409 Ukrainian drones since the start of the ceasefire.

President Zelensky warned Russia's allies on Thursday who plan to attend the military parade on Red Square, citing “a strange desire” in the current context.

“The Russians want Ukraine's permission to hold their parade, so they can safely go out onto the (Red) Square for an hour, once a year, and then resume their killing spree,” he lamented. 

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in 2022 and now in its fifth year, has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. It is the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.