Trump announces three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia starting May 9

President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia starting May 9, calling the agreement a breakthrough after months of diplomatic pressure on both capitals to halt fighting.

The pause in hostilities will begin at midnight Kyiv time on Saturday and includes a prisoner exchange of 1,000 detainees from each side, according to a White House statement. Trump said both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to the terms after separate telephone calls with the US president on Friday.

“This is a humanitarian window that both sides have committed to respect,” Trump told reporters at the White House. He described the exchange as a test of whether a broader cessation of hostilities could be negotiated.

The ceasefire covers the entire front line, which has stretched across eastern and southern Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The White House said the pause would allow humanitarian corridors to open for civilians in contested areas and enable the prisoner transfer, which will be coordinated through neutral intermediaries.

Prisoner exchange

The agreement provides for the release of 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners held in Russian facilities and an equal number of Russian prisoners held in Ukraine. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been asked to facilitate the transfer, which is expected to take place at a crossing point on the Belarus border.

Previous prisoner exchanges during the war have typically involved smaller numbers, with the largest prior swap in January 2024 covering approximately 200 prisoners per side. The scale of the proposed exchange suggests both governments are signalling willingness to engage in a broader diplomatic track, analysts said.

Reaction

Zelensky confirmed Ukraine’s participation in a brief statement, saying the ceasefire would save civilian lives and test Russia’s commitment to the terms. He cautioned that previous agreements, including the Black Sea grain corridor and limited local ceasefires, have been violated by Russian forces.

Putin’s office issued a statement saying Russia had accepted the ceasefire on humanitarian grounds and expected Ukraine to adhere to the terms. The Kremlin did not comment on whether the three-day pause could lead to broader negotiations.

European leaders welcomed the announcement cautiously. French President Emmanuel Macron said the ceasefire was a positive step but noted that previous efforts to secure lasting ceasefires in Ukraine had failed. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the prisoner exchange particularly welcome news for the families affected.

What happens after

The ceasefire is set to expire at midnight Kyiv time on May 12. Trump said he hoped the pause would build confidence for a longer-term arrangement, though he acknowledged that substantive negotiations on territorial issues and security guarantees remain distant. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to both Kyiv and Moscow next week to explore whether the three-day window can be extended.

Fighting in the preceding days had been intense, with Russian forces making marginal gains near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk and Ukrainian forces conducting drone operations against energy infrastructure inside Russia. The three-day pause, if it holds, would be the first front-wide ceasefire since the early weeks of the war in 2022.