US President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, effective May 9, 10, and 11, stating it could mark the beginning of the end of the war. The truce includes a mutual exchange of 1,000 prisoners, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. He credited himself for making the request directly, expressing appreciation to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for agreeing. Russia had earlier declared a two-day unilateral ceasefire to coincide with its May 9 Victory Day celebrations. Ukraine previously claimed it had proposed a ceasefire that Moscow ignored, calling Russia's move a ploy to protect the Red Square military parade.
Despite the announcement, attacks continued. Ukraine's air force reported 67 Russian drones launched overnight, the lowest in nearly a month. Zelenskyy stated that the enemy had not reduced assault operations, and Ukraine was responding in kind. Russia claimed it downed over 400 Ukrainian drones since midnight, with 100 targeting Moscow. A Ukrainian drone strike hit an air navigation centre in Rostov-on-Don, leading to the closure of 13 southern Russian airports, though flights were later partially restored. Russia's transport ministry called the attack an act endangering civil aviation, prompting Putin to convene a security council meeting.
In occupied Kherson, a Ukrainian drone killed a 41-year-old man and his 15-year-old daughter, according to Moscow-backed officials. Zelenskyy praised a Ukrainian strike on an oil depot in Russia's Yaroslavl region, about 200 kilometres northeast of Moscow. Military hardware will not appear in this year's Victory Day parade in Moscow, a break from past years. Zelenskyy warned allies of Moscow not to attend the event, calling it a propaganda tool. Russia had threatened a major strike on Kyiv if the parade were disrupted, urging foreign diplomats to leave. Some in Kyiv dismissed the threats as routine.
Trump claims credit for a ceasefire that both sides were already discussing independently, exposing the gap between his portrayal and the actual diplomatic dynamics. Zelenskyy had already proposed a truce before Trump's announcement, and Russia tied its pause to its own national event. The prisoner swap and brief halt in fighting do not alter the reality that strikes continued hours after the declared truce. This moment underscores how external actors can frame diplomatic gestures without changing the battlefield calculus.
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