Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday declared a 30-hour Easter truce with Ukraine through Sunday night, which Ukraine’s President described as trying to “play with human lives.”
In a video, Putin said Russian troops will be ready to react if there are provocations or violations of the truce. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The Russian leader made the announcement after meeting with Chief of Russia’s General Staff Valery Gerasimov, with the truce starting at 6 p.m. Ukrainian time and running through midnight Sunday.
“I order for this period to stop all military action,” Putin said. “We are going on the basis that the Ukrainian side will follow our example, while our troops must be ready to resist possible breaches of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the truce was “guided by humanitarian considerations.”
In early 2023, he announced an Orthodox truce, though the BBC reported artillery fire didn’t end.
Ukraine has yet to accept or reject the halt but Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Putin’s words “cannot be trusted.”
“Putin has now made statements about his alleged readiness for a cease-fire. Thirty hours instead of 30 days,” Sybiha said. “Unfortunately, we have had a long history of his statements not matching his actions.
“We want to see Russian forces actually cease-fire in all directions. We also urge all of our partners and the international community to be vigilant,” he said.
In a post on X, Zelensky said forces continued their activity in the Kursk region and “are holding their positions. In the Belgorod region, our warriors have advanced and expanded our zone of control.”
“As for yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives – at this moment, air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine,” he said. “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 towards Easter and toward human life.” (UPI)
