Russia and Ukraine poised to initiate temporary ceasefire for Easter

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A temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine for Orthodox Easter is set to begin on Saturday afternoon, as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war falter.

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The Kremlin said it had ordered a temporary truce from Saturday at 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) until the end of Sunday, a 32-hour period.

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Russia’s Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and army chief Valery Gerasimov have been instructed to “cease hostilities in all directions during this period”, the Kremlin said.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had “repeatedly stated” it was ready for a ceasefire over Easter, and was willing to reciprocate.

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The temporary ceasefire came as US-led talks on ending the four-year-old conflict have been derailed by the Middle East war.

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The two sides also held a ceasefire for the Orthodox Easter last year.

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Authorities in Ukraine’s southern Odessa said on Saturday that two people had been killed in Russian strikes, and two others wounded, just hours before the ceasefire was set to begin.

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Two people were killed and around 15 others wounded overnight Friday in two separate attacks in Ukraine’s central region of Poltava and Sumy, a region in the northeast, regional authorities said.

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According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 128 drones against the country overnight Thursday.

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– Slowdown in Russian military operations –

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Several rounds of US-led talks have failed to bring the warring sides closer to an agreement and Washington’s attention is now focused on Iran.

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The negotiations have become deadlocked, with Moscow demanding territorial and political concessions that Zelensky has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russia had discussed the ceasefire with Ukraine or the United States in advance and said it was not linked to negotiations to end the war.

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The war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes, making it Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

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Over the past few years, fighting on the front has come to a near standstill. Russia has made small territorial gains at a high cost.

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But Kyiv recently managed to push back in the southeast and Russian advances have been slowing since late 2025, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

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Apart from Ukrainian counterattacks, analysts attributed the slowdown to Russia being banned from using SpaceX’s Starlink satellites and to Moscow’s efforts to block the Telegram messaging app.

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The situation is, however, unfavourable for Ukraine in the Donetsk region, towards the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, according to the ISW.

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Moscow occupies just over 19 percent of Ukraine, most of which was seized during the first weeks of the conflict.

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AFP

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