In a gesture framed as humanitarian, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, temporarily halting military operations for Orthodox Easter weekend. However, the ceasefire was swiftly overshadowed by ongoing hostilities, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stating that Russian drones were actively attacking Ukrainian territory even as the truce was being declared.
According to an official statement released by the Kremlin, President Putin instructed his military to cease all offensive operations starting at 6:00 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday, with the truce extending until the end of Sunday. The ceasefire aligns with the Orthodox Easter holiday, traditionally a time of peace and religious observance in both Russia and Ukraine.
“Based on humanitarian considerations… the Russian side announces an Easter truce,” Putin told General Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s top military officer, during a meeting in Moscow. He added, “We assume that Ukraine will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must remain vigilant and ready to repel any provocation or aggression.”
Putin said Russia remained open to peace talks and welcomed mediation efforts by global actors including the United States, China, and BRICS nations. Still, he reiterated Moscow’s long-standing demands, including that Ukraine renounce NATO membership ambitions and withdraw forces from all four Ukrainian territories that Russia claims to have annexed—a proposition Kyiv continues to reject as unacceptable.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cast doubt on the sincerity of Russia’s ceasefire declaration, reporting that Ukrainian air defense units were actively engaged in repelling Russian drone attacks as the truce was announced.
“This is what Moscow really thinks of Easter and human life,” Zelensky said in a televised statement, calling the attacks another example of Russia’s “empty rhetoric and continuous aggression.”
Ukraine’s military has not officially responded to the ceasefire announcement, but the ongoing clashes suggest no mutual agreement has been reached.
On Friday, ahead of the ceasefire declaration, U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a warning that the United States may withdraw from ongoing diplomatic efforts to mediate peace if there is no clear progress soon.
While Russia claims to be open to peaceful resolution, Western leaders have criticized Moscow’s ceasefire declarations as public relations gestures that mask continued military action. The Kremlin’s conditions for ending the war have remained largely unchanged and are seen by Kyiv and its allies as unrealistic and one-sided.
In a separate development, both countries carried out a large-scale prisoner exchange on Saturday, involving 246 prisoners of war (POWs) on each side. The exchange was brokered by the United Arab Emirates, a nation that has increasingly taken on a mediating role in the conflict.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the released Russian soldiers were transported to Belarus, where they are receiving medical and psychological assistance. Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed the repatriation of 246 Ukrainian servicemen, but did not immediately disclose their conditions.
The exchange comes just weeks after another major swap on March 28, underscoring that despite the ongoing war, limited cooperation channels remain open for humanitarian efforts.
The conflict began on February 24, 2022, when Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed, millions displaced, and large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine turned into war zones.
Putin continues to refer to the invasion as a “special military operation,” a term rejected by Ukraine and much of the international community, which has condemned Russia’s actions as a violation of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty.
Despite sporadic talks and intermittent truces tied to religious holidays or humanitarian corridors, no comprehensive ceasefire or political agreement has been reached. Peace remains elusive as both sides prepare for what analysts believe could be another escalation in the coming months.
