KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Thursday that his administration is working to gather more information about a temporary halt in fighting that Russia’s Vladimir Putin suggested to President Donald Trump.
Putin floated the idea of pausing combat on May 9 — a date that marks Russia’s Victory Day celebration — during a telephone conversation with Trump earlier this week, the Kremlin confirmed.
“We have instructed our representatives to contact the United States president’s team and clarify the details of the Russian proposal for a short-term ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said.
The diplomatic developments came as violence continued on both sides, with Russian strikes overnight claiming one life in Dnipro and injuring dozens in the port city of Odesa. Ukraine maintained its own offensive operations, targeting Russian industrial sites for the second consecutive day.
A vessel that sparked tensions between Israel and Ukraine left Israeli waters Thursday without offloading what Ukrainian officials claimed was grain stolen from occupied Ukrainian territories.
Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to Putin, confirmed that the Russian leader had brought up a potential ceasefire during the May 9 holiday — when Russia commemorates its World War II victory over Nazi Germany — in Wednesday’s call with Trump.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated Thursday that no final arrangements have been established, emphasizing that Putin would determine any specific conditions.
“For now, no concrete decision has been made,” Peskov stated.
Zelenskyy indicated Ukraine favors a more extended pause in hostilities. “We will find out exactly what is being discussed, whether it’s a few hours of security for a parade in Moscow or something more,” he wrote on Telegram.
The controversial grain ship had been stationed near Haifa port for multiple days before departing Thursday morning, according to MarineTraffic.com vessel tracking data.
The Israel Grain Importers Association reported that the nation’s primary grain importing business turned down the shipment due to the delicate circumstances involving Ukraine, Israeli news outlets said. “The Russian supplier of the wheat cargo will be forced to find another destination to unload the cargo,” the association stated.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha praised the outcome.
“This demonstrates that Ukraine’s legal and diplomatic actions have been effective,” he wrote on X.
Zelenskyy had warned of potential sanctions against Israel earlier this week if the ship was allowed to unload. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced that the country’s tax authorities had launched an inquiry into the vessel.
In Dnipro, drone strikes resulted in one death and five injuries, according to Dnipropetrovsk regional leader Oleksandr Hanzha, who reported damage to a store, residential structure and vehicles.
Odesa region chief Oleh Kiper said Russian forces conducted multiple waves of drone assaults on homes and civilian infrastructure overnight, injuring 20 people.
Kiper noted that while Ukrainian air defense systems intercepted many incoming threats, successful hits and debris from destroyed drones damaged apartment buildings, a hotel, a kindergarten and a government facility. The attacks also sparked fires in several areas that were subsequently extinguished.
Ukraine’s Security Service, known as the SBU, conducted strikes in Russia’s Perm region in the Ural Mountains for the second straight day, a security source revealed.
The source, speaking anonymously due to lack of authorization for public comment, said the drone assault disrupted operations at the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery, situated more than 1,500 kilometers from Ukraine.
Regional Governor Dmitry Makhonin confirmed an industrial site was struck but reported no casualties or major damage, declining to elaborate further.
In a separate incident, Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondtratyev announced online that firefighters had extinguished a blaze caused by a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian oil facility in the Black Sea port of Tuapse after it burned for nearly two days, with petroleum products spilling onto city streets.
Ukraine’s Navy reported striking two Russian ships in the Kerch Strait using maritime drones in overnight operations leading into Thursday.
The naval forces said the attacks damaged a Russian patrol vessel called “Sobol” and another ship named “Grachonok.”
The Kerch bridge, finished in 2018, connects mainland Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally seized in 2014.
