By Brian Schwartz, Lara Seligman and Anastasiia Malenko
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a three-day cease-fire and prisoner exchange, President Trump announced Friday, the latest pause in fighting during the more than four yearslong war.
Trump said in a Truth Social post that the halt in hostilities will begin Saturday and carry on through the weekend. The cease-fire coincides with Russia's annual Victory Day, a celebration of the country's victory over Germany in World War II, which Moscow typically celebrates with a military parade through Red Square.
The news comes just a month after the most recent temporary cease-fire, a 32-hour pause for Orthodox Easter when both sides accused the other of breaking the truce. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a cease-fire in honor of Victory Day commemorations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian forces of violating the cease-fire and offered to introduce a month-long unconditional truce, a proposal rejected by the Kremlin.
"This Ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each Country. This request was made directly by me, and I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy," Trump wrote on Friday.
Zelensky confirmed the cease-fire and a prisoner swap in his own social-media post minutes later. Each side has agreed to release 1,000 prisoners, Zelensky said.
"An additional argument for Ukraine in determining our position has always been the resolution of one of the key humanitarian issues of this war -- namely, the release of prisoners of war," Zelensky said. "Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be brought home."
Earlier on Friday, chief Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov met Trump's peace envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, in the U.S. The talks focused on prisoner exchanges and the need to intensify the diplomatic process, Umerov said in a post on X.
Kremlin foreign-policy aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed Russia's acceptance of Trump's proposed cease-fire and prisoner exchange. He said Moscow and Kyiv communicated separately with U.S. officials over the agreement.
The White House has tried since the start of Trump's second term to finalize a deal to end the war. Before Trump's Friday announcement, Russia and Ukraine had announced separate cease-fires that would coincide with the Victory Day events in Moscow.
Ukraine has demonstrated an increased ability to strike targets deep inside Russia with drones in recent months, which has heightened concerns within the Kremlin about security for the parade, leading to plans being scaled back. It will go ahead without tanks and other military hardware being displayed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed what he called "the terrorist threat" from Kyiv for the change.
Zelensky issued a decree late on Friday that "authorized" the parade in Moscow on Saturday, referencing numerous requests and humanitarian considerations outlined in negotiations with the U.S. The decree specified the area of Red Square, which would be excluded from the plan for the use of Ukrainian weapons for the duration of the parade.
Just days after Putin discussed a temporary cease-fire in a recent phone call with Trump, Russian forces launched on Tuesday one of the deadliest aerial attacks of the year, killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 70 others. Zelensky called the attack a "terrorist strike."
The war began in February 2022 after Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine. Neither country publicly discloses how many combatants they have lost, but think tanks such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimate that hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed.
Write to Brian Schwartz at brian.schwartz@wsj.com, Lara Seligman at lara.seligman@wsj.com and Anastasiia Malenko at anastasiia.malenko@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 08, 2026 16:16 ET (20:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments