President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a three-day ceasefire and prisoner swap to be settled by the United States, the latest setback in a years-long conflict that has seen other truces quickly crumble.
A temporary ceasefire will last from Saturday to Monday to facilitate the transfer 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 broker the deal, and saying he hoped Trump would make sure Russian President Vladimir Putin adhered to the ceasefire.
“I thank the President of the United States and his team for their productive diplomatic engagement,”Zelensky said. “We expect the United States to ensure that the Russian side fulfills this agreement.”
Trump celebrated the cease-fire announcement, and held out hope that the temporary accord represented a step toward a permanent end to the four-year war.
“Talks are ongoing about ending this Great Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we’re getting closer every day,” Trump said.he said on Social Reality.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of violating previous ceasefire agreements several times. Russia announced a brief ceasefireto celebrate Orthodox Easterin April, which allowed the two countries to exchange 175 prisoners of war. But both sides claimed that the other launched attacks during the ceasefire window.
Zelenskyy had announced a unilateral ceasefire on Tuesday, but said Russia launched air and ground strikes that day. In response, Zelenskyy said he no longer saw the need to respectA unilateral ceasefire announced by Russiaahead 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 attack” on Kyiv if Ukraine attacked Russia during the Saturday holiday, Russia’s defense ministry said.
Trump said in a statement that the cease-fire request came from him – a sign of the president’s continued influence on the war even if he has yet to offer a permanent deal to end the war he has long desired.
Ukraine recently sent its chief negotiator to the United States for talks with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,POLITICO reported earlier this week.
