Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday a ceasefire for Orthodox Easter weekend after rejecting Ukraine’s similar proposals for a truce.
“In connection with the approaching holiday of Orthodox Easter, a ceasefire is declared from 1600 on April 11 to the end of the day of April 12,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“We proceed on the basis that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation.”
For the past few weeks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been calling for a ceasefire for the upcoming Orthodox Easter weekend.
Ukraine’s leader proposed the Easter truce to Russia and also tried to convince Moscow, via mediator countries, to accept the ceasefire.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said he had asked the United States to pass on a proposal for a holiday weekend truce to Moscow, as a first step.
All these calls have been ignored by Moscow until Thursday evening, when the Kremlin announced its “unilateral” holiday truce.
Zelenskyy responded to the Kremlin statement, saying, “Ukraine has repeatedly stated that we are ready for mirror steps. We proposed a ceasefire for the Easter holidays this year and will act accordingly.”
“People need an Easter without threats and a real movement towards peace, and Russia has a chance not to return to strikes after Easter.”
Can the ceasefire be extended?
The diplomatic process aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine has stalled since the beginning of the Iran war, which Kyiv claims only “bolsters Russia’s confidence”.
According to media reports, Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev travelled to the US to meet with the Trump administration officials on Thursday.
The talks are reportedly focused on potential negotiations over putting an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as broader US-Russia economic cooperation.
The timing of his visit is not coincidental. The US deadline on whether Washington will extend sanctions relief on Russian oil expires on Saturday.
When the US imposed sanctions in October 2025, Moscow agreed to return to the peace talks.
In early March the US eased the restrictions and greenlit the sale of previously sanctioned Russian oil already on the water through 11 April.
Washington hoped to minimise the economic fallout from the Iran war, but oil prices continued to rise, allowing Russia to make billions in extra profit according to estimates.
Zelenskyy urged Russian oil sanctions to be reimposed after the Iran ceasefire.
“If sanctions on Russian oil have been lifted because of the war in the Middle East, will the US sanctions be reimposed now that there is a ceasefire? I think that an answer to this question will expose the reason for lifting sanctions in the first place,” Ukraine’s president said.
“In my view, Russia played the Americans again – played the president of the United States.”
“The Russians lied about the role their oil supplies played in keeping oil markets stable. If the US reimposes sanctions, that would be fair. But if it doesn’t…,” he stated.
Zelenskyy called for increased pressure on Russia to restart the peace talks and finally agree to a trilateral leaders’ meeting, which Kyiv has been urging for months.
“If Russia chooses the path of de-escalation, then I believe a trilateral meeting will take place.”
Ukraine’s president said April, May and June are “key months” as he believes “the Americans will not give anyone more time for this dialogue.”
“As summer begins, the United States will become even more focused on its internal processes – on the elections. And I think they have a kind of domestic political deadline – around August.”
He admitted that the period before that will be “quite difficult politically and diplomatically.”
“There may be pressure on Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said, as Kyiv hopes there will also be pressure on Russia too.