Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a temporary ceasefire to observe Orthodox Easter on April 12. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a halt in fighting after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a temporary truce to allow citizens to participate in the holiday.
Putin issued a decree on Thursday recognizing the ceasefire, which is scheduled to last from 4 p.m. local time on Saturday until the end of Orthodox Easter Sunday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia announced the decree on various social media platforms, including Telegram and X.
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“By decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, a ceasefire has been declared ahead of the Orthodox Easter – from 4:00 p.m. on April 11 until the end of April 12, 2026,” read the notification about the temporary halt in fighting.
“The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation – Commander of the Joint Grouping of Forces – Army General Valery Gerasimov have been instructed to halt combat operations in all areas for this period,” noted the message.
Russia warned that its troops would “remain ready to repel any possible provocations by the enemy” if Ukraine did not honor the ceasefire.
“We proceed from the assumption that the Ukrainian side will follow Russia’s example,” said Russia’s MFA.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country would “act accordingly.”
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“Ukraine has repeatedly stated that we are ready for symmetrical steps,” Zelensky said in a post on X. “We proposed a ceasefire during the Easter holidays this year and will act accordingly. People need an Easter free from threats and real movement toward peace, and Russia has a chance not to return to strikes after Easter as well.”
It remains to be seen if this year’s ceasefire will hold. A similar decree was issued by Putin last year during Orthodox Easter, but a halt in the fighting was very short-lived, and each country accused the other of violating the agreement. Russia claimed Ukraine violated the temporary truce on 4,900 instances, while Zelensky accused Russia of breaking it more than 2,900 times.
“The nature of Ukrainian actions will continue to be mirror-like: we will respond to silence with silence, and our blows will be a defense against Russian blows,” Zelensky said at the time. “Actions always speak louder than words.”
