Trump says Russia and Ukraine agree to three-day ceasefire and prisoner swap

President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a three-day ceasefire and a large-scale prisoner exchange, describing the deal as the possible “beginning of the end” of a war now in its fourth year.

The truce runs Saturday through Monday and includes what Trump called a suspension of all kinetic activity, he wrote on social media. Each side will release 1,000 prisoners.

“I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE,” Trump wrote.

Saturday is Victory Day in Russia, the holiday marking the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany 81 years ago. The anniversary is the most important date on the Russian state calendar and has been marked with military parades through Red Square for all of Vladimir Putin’s time in power.

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv issued an immediate statement confirming the terms. The White House gave no details of the negotiations and did not name the officials involved.

The announcement landed on a day when the Trump administration was also managing an escalating confrontation with Iran. The Pentagon said it had thwarted attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and disabled two more Iranian tankers breaching a U.S. blockade. The ceasefire in the Iran conflict has frayed in recent days.

What the agreement covers

The terms Trump described are narrow. The three-day pause covers “all kinetic activity”, meaning artillery, missile strikes, and drone attacks along the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line. It does not address troop movements, fortification, or resupply.

The exchange of 1,000 detainees from each side would be one of the largest swaps of the war. Past exchanges, typically a few hundred captives at a time, were brokered by intermediaries including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The pairing of prisoners with a ceasefire signals the deal was negotiated as one package. The administration did not confirm that.

The front line in eastern and southern Ukraine has barely moved for months. Russian forces control about 18 per cent of Ukrainian territory, concentrated in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. Ukraine has hit Russian military and energy sites with long-range drones but has not launched a successful ground offensive since 2023.

The Victory Day factor

The ceasefire opens on Victory Day, giving both sides a domestic script. For Putin, it lets the Kremlin cast the pause as a goodwill gesture on Russia’s most important holiday, one the president used for years to link the Second World War victory with Russia’s current military posture.

For Ukraine, a truce over the holiday weekend removes the immediate risk of a Russian offensive timed to the anniversary. Ukrainian officials have flagged that risk in past years. Kyiv has not commented on Trump’s announcement.

Trump’s “beginning of the end” language echoed phrases earlier American presidents used in other wars. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has resisted diplomatic efforts since the full-scale February 2022 invasion. Earlier ceasefire proposals, including the Black Sea grain corridor and localized truces for civilian evacuations, collapsed or were only partly observed.

What happens next

The announcement included no detail on verification, monitoring, or penalties for violations. Ceasefires in this war have broken within hours before, with each side blaming the other.

Without confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv, it is unclear whether the terms Trump described are final or whether each capital will issue its own version. The Kremlin has said any ceasefire must accept what it calls the “territorial realities” of its annexation of four Ukrainian regions. Kyiv rejects that condition.

The administration said the agreement could be a turning point. The war has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions since 2022. The White House did not say whether Trump had spoken to Putin or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the announcement.

If the pause holds, the question becomes whether it leads to a longer halt and talks on a settlement. Trump wants the war to end but has not defined acceptable terms. Moscow demands Ukraine drop its NATO bid and cede the territory Russia has claimed. Kyiv wants its 1991 borders restored and binding security guarantees from the West. The two positions have not moved.