Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine on Thursday for the Orthodox Easter holiday, the Kremlin said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an Easter ceasefire earlier this week. Putin announced a similar ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of violations.
Following Putin’s announcement, Zelensky said Ukraine would “act accordingly.”
Orthodox Christians are scheduled to celebrate Easter on April 12.
What did the Kremlin say about the Easter ceasefire?
“The ceasefire has been declared by Putin in connection with the Orthodox holiday near Easter from 16:00 (1300 GMT) on April 11 until the end of the day on April 12, 2026,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“The General Staff has been instructed to cease combat operations in all directions for this period,” the Kremlin said. He said the troops were “ready to counter any possible provocation by the enemy.”
Zelensky responded to the Kremlin’s announcement, saying that Kiev had “repeatedly said that we are ready for symmetrical steps.”
“The people need an Easter free of threats and real movement toward peace, and Russia has a chance not to return to attacks even after Easter,” Zelensky wrote.
Moscow has consistently rejected long-term 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, now in its fifth year, have so far failed, as Russia demands territorial and political concessions that Zelensky has rejected.
The US has made mediation efforts under Trump, but in recent months has focused on its own war on Iran.
Edited by: Shawn Sinico