Russia’s Putin declares ceasefire with Ukraine for Orthodox Easter
By Victoria Butenko and Daria Tarasova-Markina
(CNN) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a 32-hour ceasefire with Ukraine for the Orthodox Easter holiday, following an earlier offer from Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky for a pause in hostilities.
Putin’s decree orders Russian forces to observe a ceasefire from 4 p.m. Saturday (9 a.m ET) until the end of Sunday.
The Kremlin statement announcing the ceasefire said Russian forces were ordered “to halt combat operations on all fronts during this period. The troops are to be ready to repel any possible provocations by the adversary, as well as any aggressive actions on its part.”
“We proceed from the assumption that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin added.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky had previously said he had forwarded the offer of an Easter ceasefire to Russia via US negotiators.
Zelensky posted on X that Ukraine has repeatedly sought a pause of hostilities. “We proposed a ceasefire during the Easter holidays this year and will act accordingly. 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.”
The United States has been mediating talks between envoys from Moscow and Kyiv as Russia’s war enters its fifth year.
Previous efforts to secure ceasefires have had little effect. Putin declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, which both sides accused the other of breaking.
Recent US-led efforts to broker an end to the four-year war have so far failed to halt the fighting, and its attention has shifted to conflicts in the Middle East. Moscow’s demands Ukraine give up territory claimed by Russia has long been a sticking-point in negotiations.
Russia is occupying around 20% of the territory recognized under international law as part of sovereign Ukraine, including Crimea, almost all of the Luhansk region, and parts of the Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Moscow’s longstanding maximalist demands include Ukraine surrendering the entirety of these four regions, which it has annexed but not fully conquered.
Helen Regan and Darya Tarasova contributed reporting.
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