Zelenskiy instructs Ukrainian officials to contact Trump team about Putin ceasefire proposal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks at the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. REUTERS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday said that he instructed his country’s representatives to contact US President Donald Trump’s team to clarify the details of a ceasefire proposed by Russia.
In a statement on X, Zelenskiy said Kyiv seeks peace amid the four-year war in Ukraine and is doing the necessary diplomatic work to bring the conflict to an end.
I have instructed our representatives to contact the team of the President of the United States and clarify the details of Russia’s proposal for a short-term ceasefire. Ukraine seeks peace and is doing the necessary diplomatic work to bring this war to a real end. We will clarify…
“We will clarify what exactly this is about -- a few hours of security for a parade in Moscow, or something more. Our proposal is a long-term ceasefire, reliable and guaranteed security for people, and a lasting peace,” he noted.
He added that the Ukrainian side is ready to work toward this in “any dignified and effective format.”
During a phone call with Trump on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a ceasefire in Ukraine on May 9, on the occasion of his country's Victory Day celebrations.
“Trump actively supported this initiative, noting that the holiday commemorates our shared victory over Nazism in World War II,” Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told journalists during a briefing following the call.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters in the White House that he "suggested a little bit of a ceasefire" to Putin during the phone call and that he thinks "he might do that.”
Victory Day is a holiday celebrated on May 9 in Russia and other countries, including some former Soviet states, to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory against Nazi Germany during World War II -- a conflict Russia calls the Great Patriotic War.