A short lived ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine for Orthodox Easter is ready to start on Saturday afternoon, as US-led diplomatic efforts to finish the struggle falter.
The Kremlin mentioned it had ordered a short lived truce from Saturday at 4:00pm (13:00 GMT) till the tip of Sunday, a 32-hour interval.
Russia’s Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and military chief Valery Gerasimov have been instructed to “cease hostilities in all directions during this period”, the Kremlin mentioned.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned Kyiv had “repeatedly stated” it was prepared for a ceasefire over Easter, and was prepared to reciprocate.
Read extraUkrainians sceptical as Kremlin orders Easter truce
The momentary ceasefire got here as US-led talks on ending the four-year-old battle have been derailed by the Middle East struggle.
The two sides additionally held a ceasefire for the Orthodox Easter final yr.
Authorities in Ukraine’s southern Odesa mentioned on Saturday that two individuals had been killed in Russian strikes, and two others wounded, simply hours earlier than the ceasefire was set to start.
Two individuals had been killed and round 15 others wounded in a single day Friday in two separate assaults in Ukraine’s central area of Poltava, and Sumy, a area within the northeast, regional authorities mentioned.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 128 drones in opposition to the nation in a single day Thursday.
Slowdown in Russian navy operations
Several rounds of US-led talks have didn’t convey the warring sides nearer to an settlement and Washington’s consideration is now centered on Iran.
The negotiations have turn into deadlocked, with Moscow demanding territorial and political concessions that Zelensky has dominated out as tantamount to capitulation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russia had mentioned the ceasefire with Ukraine or the United States prematurely and mentioned it was not linked to negotiations to finish the struggle.
The struggle has price a whole lot of hundreds of lives and compelled tens of millions to flee their houses, making it Europe’s deadliest battle since World War II.
Over the previous few years, combating on the entrance has come to a close to standstill. Russia has made small territorial beneficial properties at a excessive price.
But Kyiv lately managed to push again within the southeast and Russian advances have been slowing since late 2025, in line with the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Apart from Ukrainian counter-attacks, analysts attributed the slowdown to Russia being banned from utilizing SpaceX’s Starlink satellites and Moscow’s personal efforts to dam the Telegram messaging app.
The state of affairs is, nevertheless, unfavourable for Ukraine within the Donetsk area, in the direction of the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, in line with the ISW.
Moscow occupies simply over 19 p.c of Ukraine, most of which was seized in the course of the first weeks of the battle.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260411-russia-and-ukraine-set-to-begin-orthodox-easter-ceasefire