Both Russia and Ukraine were already accusing each other of violating separate ceasefires when President Donald Trump stepped in Friday and announced a new three-day truce between the two countries, to begin May 9.
"This ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country," Trump said in a post. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed his country's participation shortly afterward, and Russian state media reported that Moscow had agreed as well.
Trump said he had personally requested the ceasefire. "I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy," he wrote.
The announcement came on the eve of Russia's Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which mark the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Putin had previously declared a ceasefire covering May 8 and 9 for the holiday. Ukraine had called for an indefinite truce starting May 6. Both sides then spent Friday blaming the other for attacking first.
The Russian defense ministry said Ukraine struck civilian targets in the Kursk and Belgorod border regions and that Russian forces provided a "mirror response." Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that roughly 20 drones were downed near the city in just the first two hours of the existing ceasefire. Ukrainian strikes were also reported on industrial sites in the Perm, Yaroslavl, and Rostov regions, as well as the Chechen capital Grozny. Thirteen airports in southern Russia suspended operations following a drone attack.
Zelensky, for his part, posted on Telegram that more than 140 attacks had hit Ukrainian positions in the first hours of the earlier truce, along with more than 850 drone strikes. He said Ukraine would "act in kind."
Russia's posture heading into Victory Day was tense. Its defense ministry threatened to launch a "retaliatory, massive missile strike" on the center of Kyiv if Moscow came under attack, and warned foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital ahead of May 9. Mobile internet access was set to be limited for residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg for security reasons.
For the first time in nearly two decades, no military hardware will appear at the Red Square parade. Only the leaders of Belarus, Malaysia, and Laos, along with a small number of other dignitaries, are attending, a stark contrast to the large international gatherings Moscow hosted in prior years.
The diplomatic backdrop shifted slightly this week when European Council President António Costa said he saw "potential" for the EU to negotiate with Russia over an end to the war, though no formal talks have been announced.
