Ukraine: Russia's Putin declares Easter ceasefire

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine for the Orthodox Easter holiday, the Kremlin said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called for an Easter ceasefire earlier this week. Putin had declared a similar ceasefire last Easter, but each sides accused the other of violations. Orthodox Christians are due to mark Easter on April 12. What did the Kremlin say about the Easter ceasefire? "A ceasefire is declared from 16:00 (1300 GMT) on April 11 until the end of the day on April 12, 2026" by Putin, "in connection with the approaching Orthodox feast of Easter," the Kremlin said in a statement. The general staff has "been instructed to cease combat operations in all directions for this period," the Kremlin said, adding that troops were ready to "counter any possible provocations by the enemy." Kyiv has yet to comment on the ceasefire announcement. Moscow has consistently rejected longer ceasefire proposals from Ukraine or Washington, instead calling for a permanent end to the full-scale war in Ukraine that Moscow started in February 2022. Efforts to end the war, well into its fifth year, have thus far been unsuccessful, as Russia seeks territorial and political concessions that Zelenskyy has ruled out. The US under Trump has made efforts to mediate, but its attention in recent months has shifted to its own war on Iran. Edited by: Sean Sinico