US President Trump Announces Three-Day Ceasefire in Ongoing Ukraine Conflict

US President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which will last from May 9th to May 11th. The truce was agreed upon as part of US efforts to negotiate an end to the war.

According to Trump’s post on Truth Social, the ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity and a prisoner swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the agreement, stating that talks are continuing to end the war.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said an agreement was reached during telephone contacts with the US administration. Trump stated that he is pleased to announce the truce and thanked his counterparts for agreeing to it. The ceasefire follows a recent telephone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and Trump, in which they discussed their countries’ shared history during World War II.

The prisoner swap will take place as part of the ceasefire. Zelenskyy also confirmed that talks are continuing on ending the war. Trump expressed hope that this could be the beginning of the end of a long and deadly conflict.

In recent months, peace talks have stalled due to disagreements over Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. Moscow has demanded that Kyiv withdraw its troops from parts of the region under Russian control, but Ukraine has refused. The US has been in contact with Ukrainian officials, including Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who has suggested that Ukraine may ultimately have little choice if it hopes to secure a deal.

US representatives are currently meeting with Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov in Miami as part of the stalled peace talks.

Source: Al Jazeera