Trump announces 3-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia

US President Donald Trump announced on social media that there will be a three-day ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine from May 9 to May 11.

“The ceasefire will also include the suspension of all kinetic activities and a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country,” he wrote on his Truth social platform.

Trump said he had requested a halt to the fighting and that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had agreed to it.

“Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly and difficult war,” Trump said. He further said, “Talks are ongoing.”

Moscow and Kiev announced their own unilateral ceasefires, but each side also accused the other of violating the ceasefire.

US-led efforts to broker a peace deal have long been stalled.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is still willing to mediate an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine if it could be beneficial.

Rubio also said that America does not want to waste time if no progress is made.

Earlier today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected US envoys to visit Kiev in the coming weeks to restart talks on ending the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

The traditional Victory Day parade in the Russian capital Moscow will not have the usual display of military vehicles on Red Square, and no cadets from prestigious military academies will be involved.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov reported that no military hardware would be used at the ceremony due to the “terrorist threat” from Ukraine.

Victory Day celebrations have been completely canceled in some regions of Russia.

More on the reasons behind Russia’s small parade:

Why has Russia scaled back its May 9 victory parade?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he expected the US envoy sent by President Donald Trump to visit Kiev to resume efforts to end the war.

“We are coordinating the schedule of necessary visits and expect the visit of the US President’s representative in the spring-summer season,” Zelensky posted on social media. He said he hoped this round of talks would lead to “activation of diplomacy”.

Despite several rounds of talks, the US-led talks have so far failed to achieve any breakthrough that could end the Russia-initiated war on Ukraine.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 3,000 attacks on Ukraine’s healthcare system have been recorded since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

According to WHO, about 80% of the attacks have occurred on outpatient clinics, hospitals and other health institutions, with the remaining 20% ​​on ambulances and other health-related vehicles.

WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge said that every single attack recorded was a “violation of international humanitarian law”, adding that such attacks “cannot be normalised.”

According to the United Nations, approximately 13 million people in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Ukrainian officials said a drone crash caused a major forest fire within the Chernobyl exclusion zone near the area’s decommissioned nuclear plant.

According to local officials, radiation levels in the area were within “normal limits”, with firefighters present at the scene to bring the fire under control.

Ukraine has repeatedly blamed Russia for attacks on its nuclear sites.

The area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been largely deserted since the plant’s catastrophic meltdown in April 1986.

Russia will hold its annual victory parade over Nazi Germany in Moscow on Saturday, with the parade expected to be much smaller than in previous years, with tanks and other heavy military equipment not being included due to concerns about Ukrainian attacks.

The Kremlin said the number of foreign guests at the parade would be much more limited than in previous years, with only the leaders of Belarus, Malaysia and Laos attending.

The leaders of the two Georgian breakaway republics, not recognized by the United Nations and supported by Russia, will also be present.

World War II, known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia, is one of the central elements emphasized by Vladimir Putin during his 25-year rule in the country.

Russia’s military said it was responding “symmetrically” to the Ukrainian attacks.

It comes amid Moscow’s unilateral two-day ceasefire, which Ukraine never agreed to, accusing Russia of only stopping the fighting so it could celebrate an extravagant Victory Day parade over Nazi Germany in its capital.

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Ukraine shot down hundreds of drones and launched artillery strikes on the front line.

More than a dozen airports in southern Russia were closed due to the threat of Ukrainian attacks, according to the country’s aviation authorities.

Earlier, Russia had threatened that any attempt to disrupt the parade in Moscow would be responded to with a heavy attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday called Russia’s unilateral ceasefire announcement “not even a symbolic effort.”

“Ukraine will respond in the same way today as we did over the past 24 hours,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

Ukraine criticized Russian leader Vladimir Putin for declaring an armistice only so he could hold a Victory Day parade over Nazi Germany in Moscow. Zelensky also said Russia carried out hundreds of strikes on the front lines using short-range drones.

Kiev said Moscow had ignored a Ukrainian counteroffer to halt the fighting earlier this week, with Zelensky presenting the Ukrainian proposal as a test of whether the Kremlin was serious about offering a brief respite in the four-year war.

But already on Wednesday, Ukraine said Russia had shown no will to stop the fighting by attacking Ukrainian cities overnight with more than 100 combat drones and three missiles.

At least 27 people were killed and dozens more injured in Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine late Tuesday.

President Zelensky said an attack in the city of Poltava was “particularly gruesome” because Russia launched a second missile at the same target while emergency rescue teams were working at the scene.

Ukraine accuses Russia of violating ceasefire with drone barrage

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Russia may have called for a unilateral ceasefire in its full-scale war in Ukraine to celebrate World War II Victory Day over Nazi Germany, but Ukraine never agreed, and Russia has continued to launch missiles and drones all week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Russia’s announcement as “not even a mere symbol” of a ceasefire effort.

Meanwhile, Moscow’s Victory Day parade on Saturday will be held without any military equipment due to concerns over Ukrainian attacks, with Russia threatening to heavily attack Ukraine if it disrupts the parade with attacks.

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