KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seeking details of a short-term ceasefire Russia proposed to U.S. President Donald Trump, he said in a post on Telegram on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a May 9 ceasefire to coincide with Victory Day in Russia in a phone call with Trump the previous day, according to the Kremlin.
“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.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks overnight killed one person in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro and wounded dozens more in the southern port city of Odesa, as Ukraine continued to strike industrial facilities inside Russian territory for a second day in a row.
A ship that created a brief diplomatic scuffle between Israel and Ukraine has departed Israel without unloading what Zelenskyy said were grains Russia stole from occupied areas of Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said.
Potential short-term ceasefire
Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov said that the Russian president had discussed a ceasefire for the May 9 holiday, when Russia celebrates victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, during a phone call with Trump Wednesday.
But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that no definite decision had been made, and that it would be for Putin to decide on the specific terms.
“For now, no concrete decision has been made,” Peskov said.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is proposing a longer-term ceasefire. “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 said in a post on Telegram.
Controversial ship does not unload
The ship that Ukrainian officials said was carrying stolen grain had anchored close to the Haifa port for several days, but departed from Israel on Thursday morning, according to MarineTraffic.com, which tracks ships.
The Israel Grain Importers Association said that the country’s largest grain import company rejected the shipment, due to the sensitive situation with Ukraine, Israeli media reported. “The Russian supplier of the wheat cargo will be forced to find another destination to unload the cargo,” the association said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the development was welcome.
“This demonstrates that Ukraine’s legal and diplomatic actions have been effective,” he said in a post on X.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had threatened sanctions against Israel on Tuesday if the vessel unloaded. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said earlier in the week that the country’s tax authority had opened an investigation into the ship.
Russian attacks continue in Ukraine
In Dnipro, a drone attack killed one person and injured five, Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said in a post on Telegram. He said a shop, a residential building and vehicles were damaged.
In Odesa, region head Oleh Kiper said Russian forces launched waves of drone attacks on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Odesa overnight, wounding 20 people.
He added that Ukrainian air defenses had downed many of the incoming targets but hits and falling debris damaged residential buildings, a hotel, a kindergarten and an administrative building. They also caused fires at several locations which were later extinguished.
Ukraine strikes inside Russia
Units of Ukraine’s Security Service, or SBU, struck Russia’s Perm region in the Ural Mountains for a second day in a row, according to a security official.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said the drone attack disrupted the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery, located over 1,500 kilometers from Ukraine.
Gov. Dmitry Makhonin said an industrial facility was hit, and there were no casualties or any significant damage. He didn’t provide any further details.
Separately, Krasnodar regional governor Veniamin Kondtratyev said in an online statement that a fire caused by a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian oil refinery at the Black Sea port of Tuapse has been put out after raging for almost two days, with oil products spilling out on the streets of the city.
Ukraine’s Navy said it struck two Russian vessels in the Kerch Strait using sea drones overnight into Thursday.
It said as a result of the strike, a Russian patrol boat called “Sobol” and another vessel named “Grachonok” were hit.
The Kerch bridge which was completed in 2018 links mainland Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
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