New Delhi, Apr 19: Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, citing Easter as the reason for a brief pause in hostilities, according to Russian media reports. The truce, which began at 20:30 IST on Saturday (18:00 Moscow time/16:00 BST), will last until 02:30 IST on 22 April (midnight Moscow time on 21 April/22:00 BST).
The announcement follows a warning from US President Donald Trump, who said Washington would “take a pass” on further efforts to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv if either party continued to complicate peace efforts. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr. Trump said that although he was not expecting a breakthrough “in a specific number of days,” he hoped for a deal “quickly”.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also signalled growing frustration in Washington. “We will walk away if there is no sign of progress within days,” he warned. According to the BBC, President Putin declared what he termed an “Easter truce”, instructing Russian forces to halt military operations for the designated period. “All military actions are to be stopped,” Putin was quoted as saying in a video released by Russian media. He added that the Russian military would remain on alert in case of provocations or breaches of the ceasefire.
The Russian Ministry of Defence later confirmed the order, stating the pause in hostilities was “guided by humanitarian considerations”. In a translated statement, the ministry said, “Our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions, as reported by BBC
It remains unclear whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accepted the truce conditions. However, last month Kyiv had expressed willingness to agree to a US-brokered 30-day ceasefire. “The ball is now in their [Russia’s] court,” Secretary Rubio said at the time. The latest developments come more than three years after Russia Ukraine war. Despite intermittent diplomatic efforts, the conflict has continued with heavy casualties and displacement across the region.As the Easter truce takes effect, attention now turns to whether both sides will honour the ceasefire—and whether the US will remain engaged in brokering a longer-term peace.
