Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers remarks as he arrives for the European Union summit in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Petros Karadzias/AP
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Petros Karadzias/AP
KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking details of a short-term ceasefire proposed by Russia to U.S. President Donald Trump, he said in a post on Telegram on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a ceasefire on May 9, Russia’s Victory Day, in a phone call with Trump the previous day, according to the Kremlin.
“We have instructed our representatives to contact the team of the President of the United States and clarify the details of the Russian proposal for a short-term ceasefire,” Zelensky said.
Meanwhile, overnight Russian strikes killed one person in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro and wounded dozens in the southern port city of Odessa, as Ukraine continued attacking industrial facilities inside Russian territory for a second consecutive day.
Ukrainian officials said the ship that caused a brief diplomatic scuffle between Israel and Ukraine has departed from Israel without unloading grain stolen by Russia from Ukraine’s occupied territories according to Zelensky.
possible short-term ceasefire
Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said 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 on Wednesday.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that no definitive decisions had been made and that it was up to Putin to decide on the specific terms.
“At the moment, no concrete decisions have been taken,” Peskov said.
Zelensky said Ukraine is proposing a long-term ceasefire. “We will find out what exactly is being discussed, whether it is a few hours of security for the parade in Moscow or something else,” he said in a post on Telegram.
Controversial ship does not unload cargo
Ukrainian authorities said the ship was carrying stolen grain, which had been docked near the port of Haifa for several days but left Israel Thursday morning, according to MarineTraffic.com, a ship-tracking company.
The Israel Grain Importers Association said the country’s largest grain import company rejected the shipment due to the sensitive situation with Ukraine, Israeli media reported. “The Russian supplier of wheat cargo will be forced to find another destination to unload the cargo,” the association said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha said the development was welcome.
“This shows that Ukraine’s legal and diplomatic actions have been effective,” he said in a post on Twitter.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday threatened to impose sanctions against Israel if the cargo was unloaded from the ship. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said earlier in the week that the country’s tax authority had begun investigating the ship.
Russian attacks continue in Ukraine
A drone strike in Dnipro killed one person and injured five, Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanza said in a post on Telegram. He said a shop, a residential building and vehicles were damaged.
In Odessa, region chief Oleh Kipar said Russian forces launched a flurry of drone attacks on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Odessa overnight, injuring 20 people.
He said Ukrainian air defense shot down several incoming targets, but hits and falling debris damaged residential buildings, a hotel, a kindergarten and an administrative building. They also set fire at several places which were later extinguished.
Ukraine attacked inside Russia
Units of the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, attacked Russia’s Perm region in the Ural Mountains for the second consecutive day, according to a security official.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said the drone strike disrupted the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery, located more than 1,500 kilometers from Ukraine.
Governor Dmitry Makhonin said that an industrial facility was affected, and there were no casualties or significant damage. He did not give any further details.
Separately, Krasnodar regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev 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 extinguished after raging for nearly two days, causing oil products to spill onto the city’s streets.
Ukraine’s navy said it attacked two Russian ships in the Kerch Strait using maritime drones on Thursday night.
It said that as a result of the attack, a Russian patrol boat named “Sobol” and another ship named “Grachonok” were hit.
The Kerch Bridge, completed in 2018, connects mainland Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
