Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, citing humanitarian reasons during a Kremlin meeting.
The ceasefire will last from 6 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday until midnight Sunday, coinciding with Easter celebrations, according to the Kremlin.
“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions,” Putin said.
There was no immediate response from Ukrainian officials.
Putin’s announcement comes a day after President Donald Trump said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia were “coming to a head.”
“If for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say you’re foolish. You are fools, you horrible people,” he said. “And we’re going to just take a pass. But hopefully, we won’t have to do that.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Friday that the United States may be ready to “move on” from its efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine if there was no clear progress in the coming days.
“We need to figure out here now, within a matter of days, whether this is doable in the short term, because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on,” he said.
Their comments followed a grueling day of talks among U.S., Ukrainian and European officials in Paris as Rubio told reporters that the U.S. would “not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end.”
It remains unclear whether the ceasefire represents a genuine step toward de-escalation or a strategic pause influenced by mounting international pressure and Trump’s rhetoric.
In January 2023, a ceasefire ordered unilaterally by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with the start of Orthodox Christmas was rejected by Ukraine and its allies as a cynical move aimed at gaining time on the battlefield and favor with the public.
