Vladimir Putin said today that he is ready for negotiations as he declared a short Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, but Kyiv’s leadership remains wary of Moscow’s intentions, ITV News’ Graham Stothard reports
Vladimir Putin has declared an “Easter truce” and says Russian forces will halt all military operations in Ukraine until the end of Sunday.
The announcement came as Russia and Ukraine swapped hundreds of captured soldiers in the largest exchange since Moscow’s full-scale invasion began over three years ago.
Fighting will pause between 6pm local time on Saturday until midnight on Monday, the Russian President said on Saturday.
He said the truce is “guided by humanitarian considerations”, adding: “I order all military actions to cease for this period.”
“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example,” he added. “At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions.”
“We know that the Kyiv regime has violated the agreement on non-strikes on energy infrastructure more than 100 times, as you reported to me.
“Therefore, I ask you to be extremely attentive and organised, to be ready for an immediate response in full.”
Moscow and Kyiv both agreed last month to implement a 30-day halt on strikes on energy facilities. Both parties have differed on the start time for stopping strikes and alleged daily breaches by the other side.
Earlier this week, when asked if Russia was going to stop abiding by the limited ceasefire after 30 days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov demurred, saying the decision will be made later.
In January 2023, Putin had ordered his forces in Ukraine to observe a unilateral, 36-hour cease-fire for Orthodox Christmas.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had stopped short of stating his forces would reject Putin’s request, but dismissed the Russian move as playing for time to regroup its invasion forces and prepare additional attacks.
Following Putin’s announcement on Saturday, Zelenskyy accused Putin of “yet another attempt” to “play with human lives”.
“At this moment, air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine,” he wrote on social media.
“At 17:15, Russian attack drones were detected in our skies. Ukrainian air defence and aviation have already begun working to protect us. Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Kyiv had in March “agreed unconditionally to the US proposal of a full interim ceasefire for 30 days,” which Russia rejected.
“Putin has now made statements about his alleged readiness for a ceasefire. 30 hours instead of 30 days,” Sybiha continued. “Unfortunately, we have had a long history of his statements not matching his actions.”
Saturday’s announcement follows overnight drone and missile attacks launched by Russia on five regions across Ukraine.
The two sides meanwhile exchanged hundreds of POWs on Saturday.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said that 246 Russian service members were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv, and that “as a gesture of goodwill” 31 wounded Ukrainian POWs were transferred in exchange for 15 wounded Russian soldiers in need of urgent medical care.
Zelenskyy said that 277 Ukrainian “warriors” have returned home from Russian captivity. Both sides thanked the United Arab Emirates for their mediation.
Putin’s ceasefire announcement came after US President Donald Trump’s warning that Washington’s efforts to secure a peace deal are “coming to a head”, but that he is hopeful an agreement can still be reached.
Earlier on Friday US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said America be ready to “move on” from efforts to secure a peace if progress is not made within the coming days.
Moscow has effectively refused to accept a comprehensive ceasefire that Trump has sought and Ukraine has endorsed.
Putin has made it conditional on a halt in Ukraine’s mobilisation efforts and Western arms supplies, which has been rejected by Ukraine. Kyiv believes Moscow’s forces are gearing up for a fresh offensive.
Meanwhile Russia’s Defence Ministry has said its forces have pushed Ukrainian troops from one of their last remaining footholds in Russia’s Kursk region where Ukrainian troops staged a surprise incursion last year.
The ministry said Russian soldiers had taken control of the village of Oleshnya, on the border with Ukraine.
According to Russian state news agency Tass, Russia is still fighting to push Ukrainian forces out of the village of Gornal, around seven miles south of Oleshnya.
“The Russian military has yet to push the Ukrainian armed forces out of Gornal … in order to completely liberate the Kursk region. Fierce fighting is underway in the settlement,” the agency reported, citing Russia security agencies.
Russian and North Korean soldiers have nearly deprived Kyiv of a key bargaining chip by retaking most of the region.
Writing on social media on Saturday, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces are “holding their positions” in the Kursk region, adding: “In the Belgorod region, our warriors have advanced and expanded our zone of control.”
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