Putin announces "Easter truce" from 6:00 p.m. Saturday until midnight Monday
Vladimir Putin ordered a ceasefire from 6:00 p.m. on April 19 until midnight on April 21, while preemptively placing responsibility on Ukraine.
Russia. On April 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the introduction of an "Easter truce" along the entire front line in Ukraine.
According to his order, the ceasefire will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and end at 12:00 a.m. on Monday, April 21. The order concerns a full suspension of hostilities. However, at the same time, Putin instructed Russian troops to "be ready for possible provocations from Kyiv."
He also added that observing the truce would allegedly be "an indicator of the Ukrainian side's willingness for a peaceful resolution."
The Kremlin leader called on Ukraine to follow Russia's example, despite the fact that attacks continued before the truce was announced.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the Kremlin’s statement regarding the temporary Easter ceasefire. He noted that following the announcement, an air raid alert was declared across Ukrainian regions.
"As for yet another attempt by Putin to play with people's lives — an air raid alert is now spreading across Ukrainian territory. At 5:15 p.m., Russian attack drones were detected in our skies. Ukrainian air defense and aviation have already begun working to protect us. The 'Shaheds' in our skies show Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life," Zelensky said.
According to him, Russia’s actions do not indicate a desire for peace but rather an attempt to use the religious holiday as cover for continued attacks.