Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a 32-hour ceasefire with Ukraine ahead of the Orthodox Easter holiday, following an offer from his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to suspend fighting.
President Putin’s decree ordered the Russian military to observe a ceasefire from 4pm Saturday (9am ET) until the end of Sunday.
The Kremlin’s statement announcing the ceasefire said that Russian forces were “ordered to cease combat operations on all fronts during this period. The armed forces are ready to repel any provocations or aggressive actions on the part of the enemy.”
“We are proceeding on the assumption that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy previously said he had conveyed the Easter ceasefire proposal to Russia through U.S. negotiators.
President Zelenskyy posted on X that Ukraine has repeatedly called for a cessation of hostilities. “We are proposing a ceasefire during this year’s Easter holiday and will act accordingly. People need a threat-free Easter and real movement towards peace, and Russia has a chance not to repeat the strike after Easter.”
As the Russia war enters its fifth year, the United States is brokering talks between envoys in Moscow and Kiev.
Previous efforts to secure a ceasefire have had little effect. President Putin declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of breaking it.
Recent U.S.-led efforts to broker an end to the four-year war have so far failed to halt fighting, and U.S. attention has shifted to conflicts in the Middle East. Moscow’s demands for Ukraine to give up territory claimed by Russia have been a long-standing stalemate in negotiations.
Russia occupies about 20% of the territory recognized as part of sovereign Ukraine under international law, including Crimea, most of the Luhansk region, and parts of Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The Kremlin’s long-standing maximalist demands include the surrender of all four of these regions, which Ukraine has annexed but not fully conquered.
Helen Regan and Darya Tarasova contributed reporting.
