Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov on Friday confirmed a three-day ceasefire and prisoner swap between Moscow and Kyiv announced by US President Donald Trump.
Ushakov confirmed the initiative’s “acceptability” for Moscow on behalf of President Vladimir Putin.
“An agreement on this matter was reached during our telephone contacts with the US administration. In turn, US representatives were in contact with Kyiv,” Ushakov said, noting the main thing agreed on during the halt is the prisoner swap involving 1,000 people on each side.
He said the initiative, which the Russian side “welcomes,” follows a recent telephone conversation between Putin and Trump, in which the two presidents “emphasized that our countries were allies during World War II and also discussed the possibility of a ceasefire during the Victory Day celebrations.”
Earlier, Trump said on Truth Social that Russia and Ukraine agreed to the ceasefire and a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange, expressing appreciation for its agreement by both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War. Talks are continuing on ending this Major Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day,” Trump added.
Zelenskyy also confirmed the truce and prisoner swap, thanking Trump and his team for their “productive diplomatic involvement.”
Victory Day is observed on May 9 in Russia and several former Soviet republics to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, which Russia calls the Great Patriotic War. Russia will hold an annual military parade in Moscow’s Red Square on Saturday to mark the occasion.
