Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a temporary ceasefire during the Easter holiday in Ukraine. He ordered his forces to close the hostilities at 18h, Moscow time (15h GMT), on Saturday, until the end of Sunday. Ukraine did not speak up.
“Based on humanitarian considerations … The Russian side announces a truce of Easter. I order the suspension of all military activities during this period,” Putin told his military chief Valery Gerasimov at a Kremlin meeting.
The Russian government said it expects Ukraine to do the same. “We assume that Ukraine will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be prepared to repel possible violations of the enemy’s truce and provocations, as well as any aggressive actions,” Putin added.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said it had given instructions on the ceasefire to all group commanders in the area of “Special Military Operation”, the term used by Kremlin for the war.
Russian troops will fulfill the ceasefire provided that it is “mutually respected” by Ukraine, the ministry said in a statement.
Three years of conflict
It began with the Russian invasion in February 2022 and continues to cause civil deaths, as happened in the Northern Ukrainian region, when two Russian missiles hit the city of Sumy, killing 34 people and hurting 117. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vehemently condemned the offensive and made a new appeal for more actions against Moscow.
Although ceasefire agreements have been announced, the two parties continue to attack each other.
