Trump communicates ceasefire as usual via Truth Social.Image: keystone
May 8, 2026, 8:17 p.mMay 8, 2026, 9:15 p.m
US President Donald Trump says he has convinced Russia and Ukraine to agree to a three-day ceasefire starting tomorrow. This will include the suspension of all hostilities and the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The request was made directly by him. Trump wrote that he was very grateful to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for agreeing.
“Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly and hard-fought war.” Talks to end the war – “the biggest since the Second World War” – continued. Every day we get closer to the goal, said Trump. In fact, there has been a lack of visible progress in the negotiations recently.
Kremlin and Zelensky confirm agreement
The Kremlin confirmed the agreement. Foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said the deal was reached in recent telephone contacts with the US leadership, according to the Russian state news agency Tass. “The most important thing was to observe a ceasefire from May 9 to 11, including the exchange of 1,000 people from each side,” Ushakov said.
Zelensky also confirmed the agreement and thanked Trump for the diplomatic effort. Russia had agreed to the prisoner exchange, he wrote on the X portal. “A ceasefire regime must be established for the days of May 9th, 10th and 11th,” he said. He instructed his team to prepare everything for this. Ukraine wants to bring its prisoners home.
A ceasefire, which Moscow declared unilaterally, had been in effect since Friday for Victory Day in Russia on Saturday. Nevertheless, according to the Ukrainian account, the Russian army continued to attack so often that, according to Zelensky, Kiev has so far had no reason to keep its arms silent. (sda/dpa)
For Russia, the Kremlin spokesman announced a statement from Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov. In Moscow, the traditional military parade in front of Putin is scheduled to take place on Red Square on Saturday.
On Thursday, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security Council, Rustem Umyerov, met with US representatives. According to Zelensky, the meeting discussed agreements on security guarantees and humanitarian issues such as the exchange of prisoners of war.
After talks in the USA, Kyiv is expecting envoys from Trump in the next few weeks. Zelenskyj gave the date for the visit until the beginning of summer; arrangements are currently underway, he wrote on social media.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion for more than four years. Most recently, the USA mediated in direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow. However, the negotiations were recently put on hold, also because the USA was distracted by the Iran war. (sda/dpa)