Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to as for a brief ceasefire in Ukraine for the Easter weekend, citing “humanitarian considerations,” as the 2 international locations swapped tons of of prisoners of struggle.
The truce was slated to start on Saturday at 6 p.m. native time and final till midnight after Easter Sunday, the Kremlin mentioned.
“I order that all military actions be stopped for this period,” Putin introduced Saturday at a gathering with Russia’s chief of basic workers, shared in a video by the Kremlin’s Press Service.
“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example,” he continued. “At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any aggressive actions.”
Russia’s Ministry of Protection later confirmed that 246 Russian troopers have been additionally returned from Ukraine in trade for 246 Ukrainian prisoners of struggle, calling it the “result of negotiations” mediated by the UAE. It marked the most important swap since Russia invaded its neighbor nation greater than three years in the past.
When pressed on Putin’s proposal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned troops on Saturday have been nonetheless actively working to battle again assaults by Russian drones. The air strikes, he wrote on X, have been indicative of Putin’s “true attitude toward Easter and toward human life.”
The Ukrainian Air Pressure reported that Russia fired 87 exploding drones and decoys in a wave of in a single day assaults that continued into Saturday afternoon. Of these, 33 of them have been intercepted and one other 36 have been misplaced, doubtless having been electronically jammed.
“This is how Russia began this Good Friday — with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, Shaheds — maiming our people and cities,” Zelenskyy mentioned.
Russia’s Ministry of Protection, in the meantime, mentioned its air protection techniques shot down two Ukrainian drones in a single day into Saturday.
The proposed ceasefire got here a day after President Trump mentioned negotiations between the warring nations have been “coming to a head,” as Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned the U.S. could “move on” from brokering a peace deal if there’s no proof of progress within the coming days.
“If for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say you’re foolish … And we’re going to just take a pass,” the president mentioned Friday. “But hopefully, we won’t have to do that.”
It’s not clear whether or not the Easter ceasefire represents an genuine effort to deescalate the battle, sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The truce additionally comes greater than a month after Kyiv reportedly agreed to a U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, which Russia finally rejected.
“Putin has now made statements about his alleged readiness for a ceasefire. 30 hours instead of 30 days,” Ukrainian International Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on social media Saturday morning. “Unfortunately, we have had a long history of his statements not matching his actions.”
