President Donald Trump said Friday that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine had agreed to his request for a three-day ceasefire and the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each, adding that he hoped the temporary truce could be “the beginning of the end” of the war now in its fifth year. “I asked and, President Putin agreed. President Zelenskyy agreed — both readily,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for 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 posted on social media that the ceasefire would run Saturday through Monday — the Victory Day holiday weekend in Russia — and would include a suspension of all “kinetic activity.” Saturday is Victory Day, the annual commemoration of the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II, and Trump noted that Ukraine was also “a big part and factor of World War II.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the agreement in a statement on Telegram, emphasizing that the return of captured soldiers was paramount. “Red Square matters less to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war who can be brought home,” Zelenskyy wrote. He subsequently issued a formal presidential decree “authorizing” Russia to hold its traditional military parade on Red Square, declaring the area off-limits for Ukrainian strikes during the event. The decree appeared designed to underscore Kyiv’s claimed ability to hit the Russian capital while publicly tying Ukrainian restraint to the ceasefire terms.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shrugged off Zelenskyy’s decree as a “silly joke.” “We don’t need anyone’s permission to be proud of our Victory Day,” Peskov told reporters.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the ceasefire and prisoner exchange, according to his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, and reiterated calls for an “unconditional and lasting ceasefire” as a first step toward a just and comprehensive peace.
The agreement, however, follows a string of failed truces. Russia had previously announced a ceasefire for Friday and Saturday, but it quickly unraveled with both sides blaming each other for continued fighting. A unilateral Ukrainian ceasefire earlier in the week similarly collapsed within hours.
Trump, who said he made his request “directly” to the two presidents, expressed hope the ceasefire could mark a turning point. “Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” he said. Trump added that peace talks continue and that “we are getting closer and closer every day,” although he has previously alternated between such optimism and saying Russia and Ukraine should be left to fight it out.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a markedly different tone during a visit to Rome, telling reporters that diplomatic efforts have not yet produced a “fruitful outcome.” “While we’re prepared to play whatever role we can to bring it to a peaceful diplomatic resolution, unfortunately right now, those efforts have stagnated,” Rubio said. “But we always stand ready if those circumstances change.”
Zelenskyy said the ceasefire was reached through a U.S.-mediated process and thanked Trump and the American team for what he called effective diplomatic engagement. He said Ukraine expects Washington to “ensure that Russia fulfills its commitments,” and he had instructed his team to prepare for the prisoner exchange without delay.