Russia, Ukraine agree to 32-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire

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Vladimir Putin

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Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire over Orthodox Easter — a temporary truce that the Kremlin says will begin on Saturday afternoon and end on Sunday night.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the ceasefire late Thursday, more than a week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky first called for a truce over Easter.

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The announcement comes amid a lull in US-led diplomatic efforts to end the four-year war.

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Here’s what we know about the proposal, and the current state of peace talks:

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– What’s been agreed? –

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The Kremlin said the ceasefire would be in effect from 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Saturday until the end of the day on 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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“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow the Russian Federation’s example,” the Kremlin added, calling it a “humanitarian” pause.

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Zelensky said shortly after that Ukraine had “repeatedly stated” it was ready for a ceasefire over Easter, and was willing to reciprocate.

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“We proposed a ceasefire for the Easter holidays this year and will act accordingly,” he said.

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The Kremlin’s spokesman denied Russia had discussed the ceasefire with Ukraine or the United States in advance.

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– Previous truces –

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Russia announced a similar, 30-hour truce with Ukraine over Orthodox Easter last year.

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Both sides accused each other of violating it hundreds of times, although the Ukrainian air force reported a lull in Russian air raids during the truce.

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Several days later Putin declared another truce, this time over Russia’s May 9 holiday, when he was due to host world leaders including China’s Xi Jinping for a grand military parade on Red Square.

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Zelensky described the proposal as “cynicism of the highest order”, saying Ukraine had no intention of creating a “pleasant atmosphere” for the occasion.

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Previous proposals for truces failed to materialise.

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Russia has repeatedly rejected Ukraine’s calls for a long-term, unconditional ceasefire, saying it is instead pushing for a final peace settlement.

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Ukraine says Moscow is not genuinely interested in peace and wants Kyiv to capitulate.

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– Battlefield situation –

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After making its largest gains last year since 2022, the Russian army’s advances have slowed in recent months.

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The Russian military recorded almost no territorial gains in Ukraine last month for the first time in two and a half years, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

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Across the entire front line, the Russian army seized only 23 square kilometres (8.9 square miles) in March, losing territory in some areas, according to the analysis.

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Moscow currently occupies just over 19 percent of Ukraine, the majority of which it seized during the first weeks of its invasion in 2022.

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Approximately seven percent, including Crimea and areas in the Donbas region, were already under Russian or pro-Russian separatist control before the invasion.

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– Where do peace talks stand? –

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US President Donald Trump’s administration has been pushing for an end to the fighting, brokering multiple rounds of negotiation between the two sides in Abu Dhabi and Geneva.

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The three countries last met in Geneva in late February, days before the United States launched its war with Iran.

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Trilateral talks have been effectively frozen since then, although both Moscow and Kyiv have signalled they are ready to resume them.

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Progress towards a peace deal has been slow, due to differences over the issue of territory.

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Ukraine has proposed freezing the conflict along the current front lines.

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But Russia has rejected this, saying it wants Ukraine to give up all the territory in the Donetsk region that it currently controls — a demand Kyiv says is unacceptable.

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The two sides have also failed to reach an understanding on the issue of control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, seized by Russia at the start of the war.

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– ‘Right strategy’ –

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Ukraine has indicated it will abide by the truce, despite scepticism among Ukrainians about whether it will work.

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“We believe that a ceasefire is the right strategy to advance diplomatic efforts,” said Ukraine’s foreign minister Andriy Sybiga.

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Moscow has rejected calls for a longer-term ceasefire.

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“Regarding the willingness to compromise, Russia doesn’t seem ready to lower its demands yet,” Russian analyst Konstantin Kalachev told AFP.

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Pro-Kremlin military blogger Rybar said the truce could be used to “evacuate the bodies of the dead or even the wounded, which has become virtually impossible due to drones.”

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