Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine as an ‘Easter truce’.
The Kremlin said all ‘military operations will stop from 6pm today (4pm UK time) until Monday.
Russia has said it hoped Ukraine ‘will follow our example’ however President Volodymyr Zelensky instead accused Putin of ‘playing with human lives’ in a cryptic response on X.
He said: ‘Yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives—at this moment, air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine.
‘At 17:15, Russian attack drones were detected in our skies. Ukrainian air defense and aviation have already begun working to protect us.
‘Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life.’
The Russian statement claimed Putin’s actions were ‘guided by humanitarian considerations.’
The truce offer came on the same day the two sides took part in the largest prisoner exchange of the war with 246 Russians returning home and 277 Ukrainians.
Yesterday, Putin’s troops pushed Ukrainian forces from one of their last remaining footholds in Russia’s Kursk region, officials said.
According to Russia´s Defense Ministry, its forces took control of the village of Oleshnya, on the border with Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine (pictured today with Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov)
A view of the aftermath of a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv yesterday
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire following an attack in Mykolaiv on Thursday
“Units of the `North´ military group have liberated the village of Oleshnya in the Kursk region during active offensive operations,” the ministry said in a statement. The Associated Press was unable to immediately verify the claim and there was no immediate response from Ukrainian officials.
The truce came days after US President Donald Trump said he was ready to walk away from trying to negotiate a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless progress is made, a top US official has warned.
If the president doesn’t see signs that an agreement is on the horizon he will call it a day because he has ‘other priorities’ to focus on, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.
‘We’re not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end. So we need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.
‘If it is we’re in. If it’s not, then we have other priorities to focus on as well,’ Rubio said in Paris, after meeting European and Ukrainian leaders.
Rubio said Trump was still interested in a deal but was willing to move on if there were no immediate signs of progress.
‘If it’s not possible, if we’re so far apart that this is not going to happen, then I think the president’s probably at a point where he’s going to say, ‘well, we’re done’, he said.
‘The United States has been helping Ukraine over the last three years, and we want it to end, but it’s not our war,’ Rubio added.
Rubio was in the French capital on Thursday for talks with UK, EU and Ukrainian delegations and a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Donald Trump is ready to walk away from trying to negotiate a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless progress is made, a top US official warns
If the president doesn’t see signs that an agreement is on the horizon he will call it a day because he has ‘other priorities’ to focus on, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday. Pictured: Marco Rubio meeting European and Ukrainian leaders in Paris
Pictured: Firefighters work at the site of a garment production factory hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine April 18, 2025
Meanwhile the US and Ukraine signed a memorandum as a first step towards the stalled minerals deal, according to Ukraine’s economy minister.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the conference underscored the ‘shared commitment to global security’.
Trump promised during his election campaign to end the war within his first 24 hours in the White House.
He moderated that claim on taking office, suggesting a deal by April or May, as obstacles mounted.
