Putin Declares Ceasefire in Ukraine for Orthodox Easter Holiday

Vladimir Putin declared a 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine on Thursday, ordering Russian forces to halt combat operations from 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, through the end of Orthodox Easter Sunday, April 12, in a unilateral move timed to one of the most sacred dates in the Russian Orthodox calendar.

The announcement came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had already passed a holiday truce proposal via the United States, as broader talks to end the four-year conflict were derailed by the Middle East war.

The Kremlin statement declared the ceasefire "in connection with the approaching Orthodox feast of Easter (the Resurrection of Christ)," specifying it would run from 16:00 Moscow time (13:00 GMT) on April 11 until the end of the day on April 12, 2026. The General Staff were ordered to "cease hostilities in all directions" for the duration, while troops were simultaneously told to be "prepared to counter any possible provocations by the enemy, as well as any aggressive actions."

Moscow made clear it expected Kyiv to comply: "We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation," the Kremlin said.

The announcement landed against a grim backdrop. Relatives on Thursday mourned over the coffin of two-year-old Ganna Sapun, killed three days earlier in a Russian drone attack on a multi-storey residential building in Odesa.

The promise of even a brief pause carries the weight of a broken precedent. Putin unilaterally declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter as well, but each side accused the other of violating it. Russia has effectively rejected a 30-day unconditional truce proposed by the U.S. and Ukraine as a step toward peace, insisting instead on a comprehensive settlement, while Moscow has announced several short, unilateral ceasefires in the interim.

U.S.-led peace talks have made no progress on key issues, and Washington's attention has shifted to the Middle East conflict, while Russian and Ukrainian armies remain locked in battle along a roughly 1,250-kilometer front line.

Whether the 32-hour window holds will be the immediate test, but Zelenskyy's prior truce overture through American intermediaries means both governments are now publicly on record favoring at least a momentary halt, leaving the burden of any breakdown squarely on whoever fires first.