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- Russia and Ukraine agreed to a U.S.-mediated three-day ceasefire starting May 9, on Friday.
- The ceasefire includes a prisoner swap of 1,000 from each side, President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
- Peace talks remain stalled between Russia and Ukraine, with no end to the war in sight.
WASHINGTON — Russia and Ukraine confirmed on Friday that they had agreed to a three-day ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump that will run from May 9 to May 11.
Trump's announcement on Truth Social also said each country, locked in more than four years of conflict, would be exchanging 1,000 prisoners of war.
Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused the other of violating ceasefires declared separately this week as Russia readies to hold a Victory Day parade on May 9 that marks the 1945 Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
"This Ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a (prisoner) swap of 1,000 prisoners from each Country," Trump wrote.
"This request was made directly by me, and I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War."
Trump added that talks were continuing to move toward an end of the war, "and we are getting closer and closer every day."
Zelenskyy, writing on Telegram, confirmed the ceasefire had been arranged as part of U.S. negotiating efforts and that humanitarian issues remained a key priority.
"That is why today, within the framework of the negotiation process mediated by the American side, we received Russia's agreement to conduct a prisoner of war exchange in the format of 1,000 for 1,000," Zelenskyy wrote.
Zelenskyy also issued a tongue-in-cheek decree "allowing" Russia's May 9 military parade to proceed and saying Ukrainian weapons would not target Red Square.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, speaking to reporters on Putin's behalf, said Russia had also agreed to Trump's initiative.
"An agreement on this matter was reached during our telephone discussions with the U.S. administration," he said.
Earlier, Russia and Ukraine had accused each other of violating ceasefires that each had separately declared.
The two sides are still pummeling each other with missiles, drones and artillery, with no end to the war in sight. Peace talks are stalled, with Ukraine rejecting Putin's demand that it surrender territory it has successfully defended since 2022.
Separate ceasefires
Putin had unilaterally declared a two-day ceasefire on Friday and Saturday to cover the Victory Day commemorations, Russia's most revered national holiday.
Kyiv responded that a ceasefire just for the holiday was inappropriate and called instead for an indefinite truce to begin two days earlier, which Moscow ignored.
The Russian Defense Ministry said 264 Ukrainian drones had been downed in the early hours of Friday, while Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the capital had been targeted and officials said the Urals region of Perm had been attacked with drones.
Ukraine said it had struck a Russian oil refinery in Perm for the second day running and hit another oil facility in the city of Yaroslavl. Zelenskyy said Russian forces continued to strike Ukrainian positions overnight.
Russia has warned that any attempt by Ukraine to disrupt the Red Square parade on Saturday would trigger a massive missile strike on Kyiv. Moscow has told diplomats that if Ukraine did attack the event, they should evacuate the Ukrainian capital.
The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War II, including many millions in Ukraine, but pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Adolf Hitler killed himself and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in May 1945.
This year's parade in Moscow, usually a show of Russian military might with intercontinental ballistic missiles and tanks, will have no military equipment on display.
The Kremlin has said Russia is stepping up security around Putin in case of a Ukrainian attack on the event, at which Putin will give a speech. He is later due to meet visiting foreign dignitaries, including from Laos, Malaysia and Slovakia.
Moscow's troops have now been fighting in Ukraine for well over four years, longer than the Soviet involvement, from 1941-45, in what Russians refer to as the Great Patriotic War.
Russia, which controls about 19.4% of Ukraine, has seen its advances slow this year, taking just 270 square miles in the first four months of the year, according to pro-Ukrainian maps.
Contributing: Olena Harmash
