President Trump said on Friday that he hopes a temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine will be extended beyond the announced three days, after the two countries agreed to halt fighting through the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to see a big extension,\u201d Trump told The Hill\u2019s sister network NewsNation after White House correspondent Kellie Meyer asked whether he planned to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again about continuing the ceasefire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump announced earlier in the day that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a three-day ceasefire, set to begin on Saturday, coinciding with Russia\u2019s Victory Day celebrations. The two nations also agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each as part of a swap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president denied that the request came directly from Putin, telling reporters he asked for it and both leaders agreed \u201creadily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have a little period of time where they\u2019re not going to be killing people. That\u2019s very good,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd they also agreed to give \u2026 a thousand prisoners back, so they\u2019re going to be transferring almost immediately a thousand prisoners from each side. That\u2019s very good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kyiv and Moscow separately declared unilateral ceasefires earlier this week, with each side accusing the other of violating the truce. Russia reportedly threatened to strike Ukraine if it was not allowed to hold its Victory Day festivities, which commemorate the Soviet Union\u2019s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s celebration will be the first time in nearly two decades that no tanks, missiles or other military equipment are paraded through Moscow\u2019s Red Square, according to The Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelensky confirmed the ceasefire in a post on the social platform X, noting his country\u2019s support to pause hostilities was largely due to the prospect of a prisoner exchange, which he called \u201cone of the key humanitarian issues\u201d of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRed Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be returned home,\u201d he wrote. \u201cUkraine is consistently working to return its people from Russian captivity. I have instructed our team to promptly prepare everything necessary for the exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United Nations Human Rights Office reported that more than 3,000 prisoners of war and civilian detainees were released from both sides between the end of May and August 2025, marking the largest exchange between the countries since the war began in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n