Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine for the Orthodox Easter holiday, the Kremlin said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called for an Easter ceasefire earlier this week. Putin had declared a similar ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of violations. Following Putin’s announcement, Zelenskyy said Ukraine will “act accordingly.” Orthodox Christians are due to mark Easter on April 12.
The Kremlin said: “A ceasefire is declared from 16:00 (1300 GMT) on April 11 until the end of the day on April 12, 2026,” adding that the general staff has “been instructed to cease combat operations in all directions for this period” and that troops were ready to “counter any possible provocations by the enemy.”
Zelenskyy responded on X that Kyiv “has repeatedly stated that we are ready for symmetrical steps.” He wrote that “people need an Easter free from threats and real movement toward peace, and Russia has a chance not to return to strikes after Easter as well.”
Moscow has consistently rejected longer ceasefire proposals from Ukraine or Washington, instead calling for a permanent end to the full-scale war in Ukraine that Moscow started in February 2022. Efforts to end the war, well into its fifth year, have thus far been unsuccessful, as Russia seeks territorial and political concessions that Zelenskyy has ruled out. The US has made efforts to mediate, but its attention in recent months has shifted to the war on Iran.
Edited by: Sean Sinico