Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday an Easter ceasefire with Ukraine lasting 32-hours and said that Kyiv has agreed to abide by the measure. The ceasefire is expected to begin at 16:00 (13:00 GMT) on Saturday 11 April and last until midnight Sunday 12 April, the Kremlin said.
In a statement, it said, "By decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin… a ceasefire is declared” for the Orthodox Easter holiday. The Kremlin added that Russia expected Ukraine to do the same, saying it would “proceed[s] from the understanding that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation”.
The statement said Defence Minister Andrey Belousov and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov had been instructed to halt combat operations during the period. It also said forces should be ready to respond if needed:
“Forces are to be prepared to suppress possible provocations by the enemy, as well as any aggressive actions on its part.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency TASS that Putin's ceasefire proposal had not been discussed in advance with the United States. Nor was it linked to any notion of resuming three-way talks on a settlement.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said Kyiv had repeatedly proposed a halt to fighting for Orthodox Easter.
"Ukraine has repeatedly stated that we are ready for reciprocal steps. We proposed a ceasefire during the Easter holiday this year and will act accordingly," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
"People need an Easter without threats and a real move towards peace, and Russia has a chance not to return to attacks even after Easter."
Meanwhile, Anadolu reported that Russia and Ukraine carried out another exchange of bodies of fallen soldiers on Thursday. Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said on Telegram, “Russia handed over 1,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers to Ukraine, while the Ukrainian side handed over 41 bodies of Russian servicemen,” adding that he believed the figures reflected different losses.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed it had received 1,000 bodies, saying identities still needed to be verified, but did not say how many bodies were handed to Russia.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said that since June 2025, more than 12,000 remains have been handed over to Ukraine, while Russia has received more than 200 bodies of its servicemen and that 17 UAE-mediated exchanges in 2024–2025 led to the release of more than 4,000 people.
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