US President Donald Trump on Friday announced a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine starting on Saturday, raising hopes that the temporary truce could pave the way for a long-term agreement to end the war.The ceasefire, which will last from May 9 to May 11, will also include a reciprocal exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side, Trump said. The announcement comes as the US President continues efforts to end the fourth-year-long conflict.“I am pleased to announce that there will be a three-day ceasefire (May 9, 10 and 11) in the war between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote on his Truth social platform.“This request was made directly by me and I very much appreciate its agreement by President Vladimir Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky,” he said.“Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly and difficult war.”The announcement followed Russia’s previously announced unilateral ceasefire linked to Victory Day celebrations on 9 May. Ukraine had earlier said Moscow had ignored Kiev’s offer of a short-term ceasefire earlier this week.Despite the ceasefire announcement, fighting continued on Friday with both sides carrying out commercial attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of continuing the offensive despite a declared ceasefire.“Despite the declared ceasefire, the enemy has not reduced the intensity of the attack,” Zelensky said. He said Ukraine was responding “in kind.”Russian defense officials said more than 400 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted since midnight, about 100 of which were targeting Moscow, and said Russian troops were “responding symmetrically”.A Ukrainian drone strike killed a 41-year-old man and his 15-year-old daughter in the Russian-held Kherson region, according to Moscow-backed officials.Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 67 drones overnight, the lowest number of drone attacks in nearly a month.Before the ceasefire was announced, Kiev had rejected Russia’s temporary ceasefire proposal as an attempt to ensure peace for the annual Victory Day military parade in Moscow’s Red Square. Zelensky also warned foreign leaders against attending the event.Russia threatened a massive attack on Kiev if Ukraine disrupted the parade and urged foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital in advance.On the streets of Kiev, residents reacted cautiously to the warnings. “Nothing new will happen,” bank employee Vasyl Kobzar, 40, told AFP. “I’m worried, but unfortunately this has become routine.”A Ukrainian lawmaker, speaking anonymously to AFP, said authorities had not introduced additional security measures. “We are just giving the finger (to the Russians),” the lawmaker said.Meanwhile, Zelensky praised the Ukrainian attack on an oil depot in Russia’s Yaroslavl region, northeast of Moscow. Russia’s transport ministry also said 13 airports in southern Russia were temporarily closed following a Ukrainian drone attack on an air navigation center in Rostov-on-Don. Later flights were partially restored.Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a Security Council meeting after the attack and described it as an “act of a terrorist nature” that endangered civil aviation.The war, which began after Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, the majority in Ukraine. Diplomatic efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have made little progress in recent months.