The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, announced the introduction of a so-called “Easter ceasefire,” which will last from 4:00 PM on April 11 until the end of the day on April 12. This information was made public by the Kremlin in an evening statement on April 9.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Conditions of the ceasefire and reactions from the parties
By Putin’s order, Russian military forces have been instructed to “halt combat operations in all directions.” At the same time, Russian troops remain on alert to respond to any possible “provocations from the enemy” and other aggressive actions. The Kremlin’s statement emphasizes:
“We proceed from the assumption that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation.”
As of the time of publication, there had been no official comments from Kyiv regarding this initiative from the Russian side.
Negotiations and discussions on the possibility of a ceasefire
Earlier, on April 1 of this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported a “good conversation” with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump — Stephen Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as well as Senator Lindsey Graham and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. According to Zelensky, the parties agreed on maintaining constant contact between the teams of Ukraine and the U.S. to “strengthen the security guarantees document” between the countries.
Additionally, the Ukrainian side officially submitted a request to the United States for a ceasefire on Easter, which this year will be celebrated on April 12 by Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians. Zelensky clarified that it is currently unknown whether the Americans will be able to convey this appeal directly to Russia; however, Ukraine’s proposal for an Easter ceasefire remains valid.
On April 6, Zelensky also emphasized that Ukraine is ready to refrain from striking Russian oil refining and oil export infrastructure on the condition that Russia stops its attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities.
It is worth noting that in 2025, Putin had already announced a unilateral ceasefire for Easter, which lasted for one and a half days. At that time, both sides of the conflict accused each other of violating agreements, but it was noted that the intensity of hostilities temporarily decreased.