Washington, May 9: President Donald Trump has said that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have agreed to his request for a three-day ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners, adding that such a halt to hostilities could be the “beginning of the end” of the long war between them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, both confirmed the agreement.
“I asked and, President Putin agreed. President Zelenskyy agreed – both readily,” Trump said on Friday as he departed the White House to attend a dinner at his Virginia golf club. “And we have a little period of time where they’re not going to be killing people. That’s very good.”
Trump earlier Friday had announced on social media that the ceasefire would run Saturday through Monday. Saturday is Victory Day in Russia, a holiday that commemorates the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
“I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote. “The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II.”
He said the ceasefire includes a suspension of all kinetic activity and the exchange of 1,000 prisoners by each country.
Russia had announced a ceasefire for Friday and Saturday, but it quickly unravelled, with both sides blaming the other for the continued fighting, just as they had when Ukraine’s own unilateral ceasefire had swiftly collapsed earlier in the week.
Trump said he made his request for the ceasefire “directly” to the two presidents. “Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” he said.
Trump added that talks continue over ending the war that began in February 2022 “and we are getting closer and closer every day.”
Trump has gone back and forth over whether the war will end, at times expressing optimism and at other times saying Russia and Ukraine should be left to fight it out to the bitter end.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s decision on how to engage with those discussions was shaped in part by the prospect of freeing its prisoners. Ukraine has made the return of prisoners of war a central demand throughout the conflict. (AP)
