US President Donald Trump announced on Friday a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine starting Saturday, expressing his hope that the temporary truce would pave the way for a long-term agreement to end the war.Trump said the ceasefire, which will last from May 9 to 11, will also include a mutual exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side. This announcement comes at a time when the US President continues his efforts to end the conflict, which has entered its fourth year.Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social, “I am pleased to announce that there will be a three-day ceasefire (May 9, 10, and 11) in the war between Russia and Ukraine.”
He added: “This request was made directly by me, and I greatly appreciate President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s approval of it.”“We hope this is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly and arduous war.”This announcement came after Russia’s previously announced unilateral ceasefire linked to the Victory Day commemoration on May 9. Ukraine had previously said that Moscow had ignored Kiev’s proposal for a short-term truce earlier this week.
Despite the ceasefire announcement, fighting continued on Friday, with both sides exchanging attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of continuing offensive operations despite the declared truce.“Despite the declared ceasefire, the enemy has not reduced the intensity of offensive operations,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine is responding “in kind.”Russian defense authorities said more than 400 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted since midnight, including about 100 targeting Moscow, and said Russian forces were “responding in kind.”A Ukrainian drone airstrike killed a 41-year-old man and his 15-year-old daughter in the Russian-occupied Kherson region, according to Moscow-backed officials.The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched 67 drones overnight, the lowest number of drone attacks in nearly a month.Before the ceasefire was announced, Kiev rejected Russia’s temporary truce proposal and described it as an attempt to ensure calm during the annual Victory Day military parade in Moscow’s Red Square.
Zelensky also warned foreign leaders not to attend the event.Russia threatened to launch a large-scale strike on Kiev if Ukraine disrupted the parade and urged foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital in advance.On the streets of Kyiv, residents reacted cautiously to the warnings. “Nothing new will happen,” Vasil Kobzar, a 40-year-old bank employee, told AFP. “I’m worried, but unfortunately it’s become routine.”A Ukrainian lawmaker, who requested anonymity, told AFP that the authorities had not taken additional security measures. The MP said: “We are just pointing the finger (at the Russians).”Meanwhile, Zelensky praised the Ukrainian strike on an oil depot in Russia’s Yaroslavl region, northeast of Moscow. The Russian Transport Ministry also said that 13 airports in southern Russia were temporarily closed after a Ukrainian drone struck an air traffic center in Rostov-on-Don.
Flights were later partially restored.Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a Security Council meeting following the strike, describing it as an “act of a terrorist nature” that endangers civil aviation.The war, which broke out after Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, most of them in Ukraine. Diplomatic efforts to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II have made little progress in recent months.
