Russian President Putin unilaterally declared a temporary “Easter truce” with Ukraine on Saturday, April 19, announcing that “all hostile actions” will be suspended for two days.
“In consideration of humanitarian concerns… Russia declares an Easter truce. I order all military operations to cease during this period,” Putin told Russia’s military leaders at a meeting in the Kremlin.
Putin stated that Russian combat activities will pause between Saturday afternoon at 6 p.m. Moscow time (11 a.m. Eastern time) and Monday midnight (5 p.m. Sunday Eastern time).
“We assume that Ukraine will also follow our lead. At the same time, our troops should be prepared to defend against any enemy violations of the ceasefire, provocations, and any aggressive actions,” he added.
Putin also mentioned that the ceasefire will help Russia assess how sincere Ukraine is in wanting to achieve a ceasefire.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that ceasefire orders have been issued to all commanding officers in the “special military operations” area (Putin’s term for the war).
The Ministry further stated that as long as Ukraine respects the ceasefire, the Russian military will also adhere to it.
Ukraine has not responded to this move. Russia had previously rejected a 30-day ceasefire agreement proposed by the United States, while Ukraine had accepted the agreement.