Trump hopes Russia-Ukraine ceasefire from May 9-11 will begin end of 'very long, deadly' war

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced on social media that there would be a three-day ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine from May 9 until May 11 to mark the end of World War Two for the Russians.

Trump had said after a phone call with Putin on April 29 that a temporary ceasefire was in the works. Putin announced a similar truce last year that lasted three days but was not agreed with Kyiv.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that the pause will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country.

"Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War," he said, adding that there was constant progress in talks to end the conflict.

Russia announced a ceasefire for May 8 to 9 to coincide with commemorations of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two and a military parade in Moscow's Red Square.

Ukraine announced its own proposal for an open-ended ceasefire that started at midnight on Tuesday (2100 GMT), urging Russia to reciprocate.

Officials said on Thursday that Ukraine's top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, had arrived in Miami for a series of meetings with U.S. ‌representatives as peace talks on ending Russia's war in Ukraine have stalled in recent months.

The U.S.-brokered talks ⁠are deadlocked over Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Moscow demands Kyiv pull troops back from parts of the region it has failed to capture in its four-year full-scale invasion. Ukraine says it will not cede land that it controls.

Moscow and Kyiv have both accused each other of violating ceasefires that each has separately declared.

-Steve Holland, Susan Heavey and Costas Pitas; editing by Michelle Nichols/Reuters