Zelenskyy has no cards to play against Russia or the West

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes statements as he arrives for the EU Summit in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, Thursday, April 23, 2026. Petros Karadjias/AP hide caption 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. 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