Russia’s Putin declares ceasefire with Ukraine for Orthodox Easter

Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik/Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a 32-hour ceasefire with Ukraine for the Orthodox Easter holiday, following an earlier offer from Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky for a pause in hostilities.

Putin’s decree orders Russian forces to observe a ceasefire from 4 p.m. Saturday (9 a.m ET) until the end of Sunday.

The Kremlin statement announcing the ceasefire said Russian forces were ordered “to halt combat operations on all fronts during this period. The troops are to be ready to repel any possible provocations by the adversary, as well as any aggressive actions on its part.”

“We proceed from the assumption that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin added.

Ukraine’s President Zelensky had previously said he had forwarded the offer of an Easter ceasefire to Russia via US negotiators.

Zelensky posted on X that Ukraine has repeatedly sought a pause of hostilities. “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.”

The United States has been mediating talks between envoys from Moscow and Kyiv as Russia’s war enters its fifth year.

Previous efforts to secure ceasefires have had little effect. Putin declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, which both sides accused the other of breaking.

Recent US-led efforts to broker an end to the four-year war have so far failed to halt the fighting, and its attention has shifted to conflicts in the Middle East. Moscow’s demands Ukraine give up territory claimed by Russia has long been a sticking-point in negotiations.

Russia is occupying around 20% of the territory recognized under international law as part of sovereign Ukraine, including Crimea, almost all of the Luhansk region, and parts of the Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Moscow’s longstanding maximalist demands include Ukraine surrendering the entirety of these four regions, which it has annexed but not fully conquered.

Helen Regan and Darya Tarasova contributed reporting.

亚历山大·卡扎科夫/人造卫星/路透社

俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京宣布与乌克兰在东正教复活节假期期间停火 32 小时，此前乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基曾提出暂停敌对行动的提议。

普京的命令要求俄罗斯军队从周六下午 4 点（美国东部时间上午 9 点）至周日结束期间遵守停火协议。

克里姆林宫宣布停火的声明称，俄军奉命“在此期间停止所有战线的作战行动。部队要做好准备，击退敌方任何可能的挑衅行为以及任何侵略行动。”

克里姆林宫补充说：“我们认为乌克兰方面将效仿俄罗斯联邦的做法。”

乌克兰总统泽连斯基此前曾表示，他已通过美国谈判代表向俄罗斯转达了复活节停火的提议。

泽连斯基在X网站上发帖称，乌克兰已多次寻求暂停敌对行动。“我们提议在今年复活节假期期间停火，并将付诸行动。人民需要一个没有威胁的复活节，一个真正走向和平的复活节，俄罗斯也有机会在复活节后不再发动袭击。”

随着俄罗斯战争进入第五年，美国一直在调解莫斯科和基辅特使之间的会谈。

此前为达成停火协议所做的努力收效甚微。普京去年复活节宣布停火30小时，但双方都指责对方违反了停火协议。

美国主导的近期旨在结束这场持续四年战争的努力迄今未能阻止战火，美国的注意力已转向中东冲突。莫斯科要求乌克兰放弃俄罗斯声称拥有主权的领土，长期以来一直是谈判的症结所在。

俄罗斯占领了国际法承认的乌克兰主权领土的约 20%，其中包括克里米亚、几乎整个卢甘斯克地区以及顿涅茨克地区、赫尔松地区和扎波罗热地区的部分地区。

莫斯科长期以来提出的极端要求包括乌克兰交出这四个地区的全部领土，尽管乌克兰已经吞并了这些地区，但尚未完全征服它们。

海伦·里根和达里娅·塔拉索娃对报道亦有贡献。