A three-day ceasefire will not decide the Russia-Ukraine war. But the U.S.-mediated pause announced by President Donald Trump is politically significant because it creates a short, concrete test of whether Moscow and Kyiv can stop fighting, exchange prisoners, and keep talking beyond a symbolic holiday window.
What the ceasefire covers
Russia and Ukraine confirmed that they had agreed to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire running from May 9 to May 11, 2026, according to Reuters-based reporting [10]. Trump said the pause would include a “suspension of all kinetic activity” and a prisoner exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each country [
5].
Those are the reported core terms:






