The Victory Day ceasefire offer Putin made to Trump
A retrospective on a phone call reported on 29 April 2026, in which Russia's president proposed a pause in fighting around 9 May.
What did a ceasefire offered for a single holiday signal about the state of peace talks? On 30 April 2026, that question hung over the proposal made a day earlier, on 29 April, when Russian president Vladimir Putin, during a phone call with U.S. president Donald Trump, offered a ceasefire for Victory Day on 9 May.
The offer was framed around one date rather than a lasting halt to the fighting. It came as part of the wider peace negotiations in the Russo-Ukrainian war, which had run in several rounds since Russia's invasion in February 2022.
The positions behind the offer
The two sides had set out very different aims. Putin sought recognition of all occupied land as Russian, Russia being given all of the regions it claims but does not fully occupy, guarantees that Ukraine would never join NATO, curtailment of Ukraine's military, and the lifting of sanctions against Russia.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sought a ceasefire, full withdrawal of Russian troops, the return of prisoners and kidnapped Ukrainian children, prosecution of Russian leaders for war crimes, and security guarantees against further Russian aggression.
Against that backdrop, the Victory Day proposal was a narrow, date-specific gesture made in a call between Moscow and Washington.
