Putin announces Easter ceasefire with Ukraine
Photo: Vladimir Putin, Russian President (Getty Images)
"Due to the upcoming Orthodox Easter holiday, a ceasefire is declared from 04:00 PM on April 11 until the end of April 12, 2026," the Kremlin said in its statement.
The head of the Kremlin has already ordered his Defense Minister Andrey Belousov and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov to "halt hostilities in all directions" during this period.
The Kremlin also added that Moscow "expects Ukraine to follow Russia’s example."
Ukraine is the initiator of the ceasefire
At the end of March, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he was ready for a ceasefire with Russia over the Easter holidays.
According to him, a 2–3 day ceasefire would not allow Russia to strengthen its positions on the front, so such an initiative would not affect the course of hostilities.
Reacting to this initiative, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that there had allegedly been no clear ceasefire initiative from Ukraine.
As of today, April 9, Peskov added that Kremlin head Vladimir Putin has not yet made a decision regarding an Easter ceasefire.
Last year, Putin had already announced an Easter ceasefire. It was supposed to run from 06:00 PM on April 19 until the end of April 21.
However, as usual, the Russians violated their own promise. In particular, on April 20, around 80 combat engagements were recorded on the front.
