President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a three-day ceasefire and prisoner exchange mediated by the United States, the latest twist in the yearslong conflict that has seen other pauses quickly fall apart.
The temporary ceasefire will stretch from Saturday to Monday to facilitate the transfers of 2,000 Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war, Trump said on social media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly signaled his support, thanking Trump for helping coordinate the agreement, and said he hopes Trump will ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin upholds the ceasefire.
“I thank the President of the United States and his team for their productive diplomatic involvement,” Zelenskyy said. “We expect the United States to ensure that the Russian side fulfills these agreements.”
Trump celebrated the announcement of the ceasefire, and held out hope that the temporary truce reflects a step towards a permanent end to the four-year war.
“Talks are continuing on ending this Major Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of violating past ceasefire agreements on multiple occasions. Russia declared a brief ceasefire to commemorate Orthodox Easter in April, which allowed the two countries to exchange 175 prisoners of war. But both sides claimed the other launched attacks during the ceasefire window.
Zelenskyy had declared a unilateral ceasefire on Tuesday, but said Russia launched air and ground assaults that day. In response, Zelenskyy said he no longer felt the need to honor the unilateral ceasefire declared by Russia ahead of Saturday’s Victory Day parade, which commemorates the Soviet Union’s role in defeating the Nazis in World War II.
Russia had threatened to launch a “retaliatory, massive missile strike” on Kyiv if Ukraine attacked Russia during Saturday’s holiday, the Russian defense ministry said.
Trump said in his statement the request for a ceasefire originated from him — an indication of the president’s continued influence on the war even as he has yet to deliver the permanent agreement to end the war he has long desired.
Ukraine recently dispatched its top negotiator to the United States for talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, POLITICO reported earlier this week.
