US President Donald Trump announced a US-brokered three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine for May 9-11, which both sides later confirmed. The deal reportedly includes a reciprocal swap of 1,000 prisoners each and coincides with Russia's Victory Day. Despite the truce, drone strikes and attacks continued in the run-up, causing deaths and damage to infrastructure. Diplomacy remains fragile and the situation is subject to further verification.
US-Brokered Three-Day Truce Confirmed Between Russia and Ukraine; 1,000-Each Prisoner Swap Announced
Russia is concerned about a Ukrainian attack on the parade (Alexander NEMENOV)(Alexander NEMENOV/AFP/AFP)
Russia and Ukraine confirmed a US-mediated three-day ceasefire and a large reciprocal prisoner exchange scheduled for May 9-11, coinciding with Moscow's Victory Day celebrations. The pause was announced by US President Donald Trump and followed days of drone strikes and competing unilateral pauses by both sides.
Truce Details
President Trump announced the truce on his Truth Social platform and said the arrangement includes a mutual exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side. Both the Kremlin and the Ukrainian presidency acknowledged the US-brokered pause, though officials said details and logistics were still being finalised.
What Kyiv and Moscow Said
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered Ukrainian forces not to target Moscow's Red Square during the Victory Day parade, which this year will be held without military hardware. A senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously, told AFP that Kyiv had effectively traded an absence of drone strikes on Moscow for the release of 1,000 prisoners of war and that Ukraine would respond "mirror-like" during the truce.
Exchanges Of Attacks Ahead Of The Pause
The announcement came after fresh exchanges of strikes. Ukraine's air force reported that Russia launched 67 drones overnight — the lowest number in nearly a month — while Russian authorities claimed to have shot down more than 400 Ukrainian drones since midnight, including roughly 100 they said were aimed at Moscow. Both sides described their actions as "symmetric" responses to attacks.
Casualties And Infrastructure Damage
Local authorities in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson region reported that a Ukrainian drone strike killed a 41-year-old man and his 15-year-old daughter. Kyiv said it struck two oil refineries in the Yaroslavl and Perm regions. In southern Russia, 13 airports were temporarily closed after a drone hit an air navigation centre in Rostov-on-Don; flights were later partially restored. President Vladimir Putin convened a security council meeting and described the Rostov strike as an "act of a terrorist nature" with potential risks for civil aviation.
Political Context And Outlook
Russia had earlier declared a two-day unilateral ceasefire to mark Victory Day; Kyiv said it had previously offered a truce that Moscow had ignored. Ukraine dismissed Russia's temporary pause as partly aimed at protecting the parade, while Moscow welcomed the US proposal as timely for its "sacred" holiday. Russia warned of heavy strikes on Kyiv if the parade were disrupted and urged foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital ahead of the event.
Talks to end the conflict — Europe's deadliest since World War II — have shown little progress and have been complicated further by instability in other regions. Casualty estimates remain high, with large numbers of military and civilian deaths reported since the invasion began in February 2022.
Note: Details of the truce and prisoner transfers were still being verified at the time of reporting. Independent confirmation of the exact numbers and timings may follow as exchanges are carried out.
Help us improve.
