New twist in Russia-Ukraine war, Putin announces unilateral ceasefire due to…

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his Easter ceasefire will expose Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's sincerity in adhering to peace agreements, and Kyiv's willingness to reach a peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war which has raged since February 2022.

Russia-Ukraine War: In a major decision, Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a unilateral ceasefire in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war on Easter. In a post shared on X, Russia’s  Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that Putin’s “Easter ceasefire” will come into effect from 6 PM (Russian time) on Sunday to 12 AM Monday.

“The Russian Side announces an #EasterCeasefire from 06:00 pm today to 00:00 am Monday. This is done for humanitarian reasons. I hereby order all military operations ceased for this period,” Vladimir Putin said in a video accompanying the MFA’s X post.

Putin announces ‘Easter Ceasefire’ on ‘humanitarian’ grounds

As per the Russian foreign ministry’s official Telegram account, Putin made the announcement during a meeting at the Kremlin with the Chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov. “During a meeting at the Kremlin with the Chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov President Vladimir Putin declared that the Russian Side is ceasing all military action starting April 19, 06:00 pm MSK to April 21, 00:00 am MSK,” the ministry said in its Telegram post.

Quoting President Vladimir Putin, the MFA said the ceasefire is “guided by humanitarian motives”. “Russian Side announces an Easter ceasefire from 06:00 pm today to 00:00 am Monday. I hereby order all military operations ceased for this period. We assume that the Ukrainian Side will follow our example,” it said.

However, Moscow called upon its troops to be “prepared to repel possible ceasefire violations and provocations by the enemy, as well as any aggressive acts on their part.”

Ukraine violated recent agreement, claims Putin

While making Easter ceasefire announcement, Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of violating a recent agreement of not attacking each other’s energy infrastructure more than 100 times. On Friday, Moscow announced it was lifting the ban on attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as Kyiv had already violated the terms of the deal.

Notably, both sides have accuses each other of breaching the agreement.

Putin further said that his unilateral ceasefire will expose Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s sincerity in adhering to peace agreements, and Kyiv’s willingness to reach a peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war which has raged since February 2022.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday said that Russian troops have regained regained control of the village of Oleshnya on the Russia-Ukraine border by forcing Ukrainian armed forces to retreat from one of their last remaining positions in Russia’s Kursk region.

US says ‘not our war’

Putin’s ceasefire announcement comes amid US President Donald Trump’s administration saying it was ready to end truce negotiations in Ukraine if no agreement is reached, DW reported. “We need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Paris after holding high-level talks with European, Ukrainian, and Russian officials in the French capital.

Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff met European and Ukrainian partners as part of the Trump administration’s effort to end the war, CNN reported.

“If it’s not possible, if we’re so far apart that this is not going to happen, then I think the president is probably at a point where he’s going to say we’re done. It’s not our war. We didn’t start it,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies)