3-Day Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Brokered By Trump Ends

ISTANBUL, May 12 (Bernama-Anadolu) --  A three-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump expired at 2100GMT on Monday, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

Trump said Friday that Moscow and Kyiv agreed to a truce for May 9 to 11, along with a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange, describing the move as a possible step toward ending the war.

“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly and hard-fought war,” Trump said. “Talks are continuing on ending this major conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day.”

His remarks came after US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov in Miami to discuss intensifying diplomatic efforts and coordinating further steps toward peace.

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a third country, but only to finalise a peace agreement ending the more than four-year war.

Zelenskyy later said Kyiv had discussed with the US possible formats for talks with Putin “at the leadership level aimed at ending Russia’s war” during Umerov’s visit to Miami.

Before Trump’s proposal, Moscow on Monday announced a unilateral ceasefire for May 8 to 9 to mark the anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II and warned Ukraine of a “massive” missile response if Victory Day celebrations were disrupted.

Kyiv later said it would observe a ceasefire beginning at midnight on May 6.

Both sides subsequently accused each other of violating the truce.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU