MOSCOW= Reuters: Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, ordering his forces to end hostilities at 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday until the end of Sunday.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian air defence units were repelling an attack by Russian drones on Saturday, saying that showed true Moscow’s attitude to Easter and the lives of people.
“Based on humanitarian considerations … the Russian side announces an Easter truce. I order a stop to all military activities for this period,” Putin told his military chief, Valery Gerasimov, at a meeting in the Kremlin.
“We assume that Ukraine will follow our example. At the same time, our troops should be prepared to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions,” Putin added.
US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said on Friday that the United States would walk away from efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.
The full-scale war began when Putin ordered thousands of Russian troops across the border into Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
