Putin announces Easter ceasefire as Zelenskyy writes air strike alarms “all over Ukraine”
Russian President Vladimir Putin cites humanitarian reasons, starting Saturday with a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine as Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of captured soldiers for the largest exchange since the full-scale invasion that began three years ago by Moscow.
According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday (11 a.m. ET) and end at midnight after Easter Sunday.
“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be prepared to repel any radical actions that may violate the enemy’s armistice and provocation,” Putin said in a meeting with Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, at Kremlin’s news service.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the ceasefire “another attempt by Putin to human life.” He wrote on X: “Air raid sirens are spreading across Ukraine” and “Shahed drones in our sky reveal Putin’s true attitude to Easter and human life”.
Russia rejects a complete temporary ceasefire
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in response to the ceasefire announcement that Kiev “unconditionally agreed to the U.S. proposal for a full temporary ceasefire for 30 days” in March, and Russia refused.
Sybiha continued: “Putin is ready for what he calls a ceasefire now. Thirty hours instead of 30 days.
Meanwhile, the two sides exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war on Saturday. The Russian Ministry of Defense said 246 Russian waiters were returned from territory controlled by Kiev, “as a good-willed gesture” 31 injured Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred in exchange for 15 injured Russian soldiers, requiring emergency medical treatment.
Zelenskyy said 277 Ukrainian “warriors” have returned home from Russian captivity.
Both sides thank the United Arab Emirates for their mediation.
Putin’s ceasefire announcement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia were “in the head” and insisted that both sides were “playing” him as they worked to end the three-year war.
Trump, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the United States could “continue” from trying to ensure the Russian-Ukrainian peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts fail to end the battle.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States may “pass” peace talks between Ukraine and Russia unless it progresses soon, but he hopes that won’t. Russia has multiple ceasefire conditions, and Ukraine refuses to meet it.
In January 2023, Putin ordered his troops in Ukraine to observe a unilateral, 36-hour ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas. Zelenskyy thinks it’s to prepare for other attacks.
Russia strives to recapture the entire Kursk region
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that its troops drove Ukrainian troops out of Oleshnya, one of their last remaining footholds in Russia’s Kursk region, which the Ukrainians invaded unexpectedly last year.
Gerasimov said in a report to Putin on Saturday that Russian state media cited Russia to take back almost all its territory from Ukrainian forces.
“The main part of the territory in the region where the invasion occurred has now been liberated. It is 1,260 square kilometers, 99.5 percent,” said Gerasimov.
Zelenskyy wrote on X that Ukrainian forces “continue to carry out activities on the territory of the Kursk region and maintain their posts.”
The Associated Press was unable to verify Russia’s claims immediately. Russian and North Korean soldiers almost deprived Kief of their key bargaining chips by recapturing much of the region.
According to Russian state news agency Tass, Russia is still working to drive Ukrainian troops out of the village of Gornal, about 11 kilometers south of Oleshnya.
The Russian security agency said: “Russian troops have not yet driven the Ukrainian armed forces out of Gornar … to fully liberate the Kursk region. In the settlements, fierce fighting is underway.”
Among other developments, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia launched 87 explosions of drones and baits overnight until Saturday. It said 33 of them were intercepted and another 36 were lost, possibly blocked by electronics.
The Ukrainian Emergency Services Ministry said the Russian attack damaged farms in the Odessa area and fired in the Sumi area overnight. The fire was contained and no casualties were found.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said its air defense system shot down two Ukrainian drones until Saturday.
