News
Putin’s remarks about the war approaching an end coincided with the start of a temporary U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, at a sensitive political moment combining Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations, growing Ukrainian long-range pressure, and an attempt by the Trump administration to turn a short pause in fighting into a broader negotiation track.
Details
• Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that Putin said the Russia-Ukraine conflict is moving toward its end, while accusing the West of betting on Russia’s crushing defeat and state collapse within months, something he said did not happen.
• Kommersant said Putin described Trump’s May 9-11 ceasefire initiative as clearly humanitarian, adding that Moscow does not oppose U.S. mediation but still sees settlement as primarily a matter between Russia and Ukraine.
• Russian state outlet RIA Novosti reported that Moscow immediately accepted Trump’s proposal to extend the ceasefire until May 11 and conduct a prisoner exchange. It said Russia sent a list of 500 Ukrainian soldiers on May 5, while Moscow had not received new proposals from Kyiv on the exchange by that point.
• Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported that Trump announced a ceasefire covering a suspension of military operations and an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each country, noting that the Ukrainian president’s office was preparing a statement on the details. The outlet also recalled that Kyiv had previously accused Moscow of violating temporary truces and had asked for a ceasefire beginning May 6, which Russia did not accept.
• The Kyiv Independent said the temporary truce appeared to hold through the night of May 9, with no major reports of attacks after midnight, but noted that Russia launched 43 drones overnight and Ukrainian air defense shot down 34 of them. It remained unclear whether the launches happened before or after the ceasefire began.
• The Kyiv Independent added that Zelensky had vowed to respond to what he called Russian ceasefire violations with long-range strikes inside Russia. Kyiv said there had been 1,820 Russian violations of the Ukraine-proposed ceasefire that was meant to begin on May 6.
• Ukrainian outlets linked the scaled-down Victory Day parade in Moscow to security threats and Ukraine’s long-range capabilities, noting that the parade had no tanks, missiles or traditional military vehicles, and that Moscow used screens to display military equipment instead of showing it in Red Square.
• Reuters reported that Putin expressed readiness to discuss new European security arrangements and preferred former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to take part in that track, but said a meeting with Zelensky would happen only after a lasting peace agreement was reached.
• Reuters also said Russian forces have still not managed to take full control of the Donbas region, and that Russia’s advance has slowed this year despite Moscow controlling just under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. That matters because it makes Putin’s claim that the war is nearing its end look more like a political negotiation message than a declaration of military victory.
Reading the scene
Putin’s statement does not mean the war is actually over. The more accurate read is that he is opening a negotiation door from a position the Kremlin wants to frame as Russian resilience against the West, not as a concession. Moscow says Washington has become a useful mediator and that the ceasefire is humanitarian. Kyiv, meanwhile, is treating the truce with suspicion and sees it as more tied to protecting Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations than as a strategic Russian shift toward peace.
The real test will come after May 11: Will the ceasefire be extended? Will the prisoner exchange be completed? Will detailed talks begin on security guarantees, borders and occupied territories? Without these steps, the truce remains a short pause in a long war.
What’s next?
The coming days will determine the weight of Trump’s initiative. If the ceasefire holds and the prisoner exchange is completed, it could become a serious negotiation platform. But if strikes resume quickly, Putin’s statement will look more like part of a psychological and political war than a real announcement that the war is close to ending.
