The Russian president said he assumes the Ukrainian side will follow its example and stop hostilities, and added that Russia’s armed forces will be ready to repel possible “violations and provocations” by Ukraine.
“Based on humanitarian considerations … the Russian side announces an Easter truce. I order a stop to all military activities for this period,” Mr Putin told his military chief, Valery Gerasimov, at a meeting in the Kremlin.
However, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky responded by accusing Mr Putin of playing “with human lives” as Ukrainian air defence units repelled attacks by Russian drones on Saturday. “Drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Gerasimov said earlier today that Russian forces had pushed Ukrainian troops from one of their last remaining footholds in Russia’s Kursk region.
The Russian military chief said the main part of the region has been liberated, according to Russian news agency RIA.
The declared truce by Mr Putin comes after US president Donald Trump doubled down on Washington’s threats to abandon talks aimed at brokering a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine if there are no signs of immediate progress.
US threatens to walk away from Russia-Ukraine peace talks ‘within day
Key Points
“Based on humanitarian considerations … the Russian side announces an Easter truce. I order a stop to all military activities for this period,” Putin told his military chief, Valery Gerasimov, at a meeting in the Kremlin.
“We assume that Ukraine will follow our example. At the same time, our troops should be prepared to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions,” Putin added.
The Russian Defence Ministry said it had given instructions on the ceasefire to all group commanders in the area of the “special military operation”, the Kremlin’s term for the war.
Russian troops will adhere to the ceasefire provided it is “mutually respected” by Ukraine, the ministry said in a statement.
How many times has Vladimir Putin broken ceasefire agreements with Ukraine?
In March, the Kremlin said US President Donald Trump had requested that Russia refrain from striking energy infrastructure.
It added that Mr Putin had responded “positively” to this request and had “immediately given the Russian military the corresponding command”.
However, Mr Putin broke his promise to Mr Trump just hours after his agreement. Russia fired several ballistic missiles and nearly 150 drones across Ukraine a few hours later
The Russian president has an extensive history of breaking peace agreements.
Ukraine brings home 277 POWs in latest swap with Russia, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that 277 Ukrainian service personnel had returned home from Russian captivity in the latest swap with Moscow.
The Ukrainian president thanked the United Arab Emirates for mediating the exchange. He said a total of 4,552 Ukrainians – service personnel and civilians – had been returned since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022.
“We remember all those who remain in captivity,” he said in a post on X. “We are searching for everyone who could be there. We must bring them all home.”