Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced a temporary ceasefire Monday hours after President Donald Trump said he believed his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was prepared to give up his claim to the Crimean Peninsula as part of a longer-term truce deal.
The Kremlin said in a note to the media that the ceasefire would begin at midnight local time May 8 and end at midnight May 11, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of “Victory Day,” when Russia celebrates its victory over the Nazis.
The note added that all military action would be suspended during this period, adding that “the Ukrainian side should follow this example.” It said any actions in defiance of a ceasefire would be met with a response.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with French President Emmanuel Macron, left, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump at the pope’s funeral Saturday.Ukrainian Presidential Press Service
Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha responded to the announcement by calling on Russia to “cease fire immediately” if it “truly wants peace.”
“Why wait until May 8th?,” Sybiha asked in a post on X on Monday.
It comes after Trump suggested Zelenskyy may be willing to give up Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
Asked if he thought Zelenskyy was ready to cede the peninsula, Trump replied, “I think so.” If Ukraine’s leader were to agree to such a measure, it would mark a major shift in Ukraine’s stance on giving up land for peace.
In what looks to be a potentially pivotal week for efforts to bring at least a pause to fighting in Ukraine, upbeat comments from the Trump administration and Zelenskyy over the weekend were followed by Putin‘s spokesperson Monday, who said that the Kremlin was ready to begin peace negotiations with Washington and Kyiv.
Setting out Russia’s conditions for peace, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov separately said Monday that international recognition of the “Russian affiliation of Crimea,” and the four other Ukrainian regions in which Russia has annexed territory was “imperative” to any deal.
That recognition must be legally codified and “indefinite” Lavrov said, adding that the demilitarization of Ukraine and the lifting of sanctions against Russia and the return of Russian assets frozen by the West would also be key.
Trump met with Zelenskyy in Vatican City on the fringes of Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday. Speaking to journalists Sunday as he boarded Air Force One in New Jersey, the president said he believed a ceasefire deal could be on the horizon as he urged Putin to “stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal.”
“We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it and be done with it and and just go back to life,” Trump added.
Asked separately by a reporter how the meeting went, Zelenskyy described it as “really productive,” but declined to elaborate. Noting that he also met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, Zelenskyy added that he wanted to “continue such meetings to bring peace to Ukraine.”
Trump said his Ukrainian counterpart had appeared “calmer” during the meeting in what was likely a reference to the public clash between them during the Ukrainian president’s White House visit in February.
Zelenskyy has long maintained that Ukraine cannot relinquish its claim to Crimea. He did not immediately appear to respond to Trump’s remarks, but any acquiescence would mark a significant change in his stance.
He has come under increasing pressure to do so. On Friday, one of Ukraine’s most prominent politicians, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, conceded that his country may have to give up territory to Russia if it wants to achieve a peace deal.
While the Trump administration has been accused of being more lenient toward the Kremlin during ceasefire discussions, the president’s tone following Saturday’s meeting added to comments he made last week that he was “very disappointed that missiles were flying, by Russia,” and suggest a shift in his view of the war.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged Trump’s comments in a briefing Monday, but said Russia’s “special operation continues” as he maintained that Moscow was prepared to begin the negotiation process with Ukraine and Washington.
Even so, Ukrainian officials reported continued shelling overnight, including in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions, as well as in Kherson city.
North Korea separately confirmed for the first time Monday that its troops were fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
Peskov also claimed Monday that Russia has recaptured Kursk with the help of those soldiers from Pyongyang and in doing so also marked the first Russian acknowledgment of their involvement in the war. Ukraine denied Kursk has been retaken.
If Kursk is confirmed to have changed hands, Ukrainian will have lost a bargaining chip in ceasefire talks.
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there were “reasons to be optimistic” about a deal, but cautioned: “We’re close, but we’re not close enough.”
