Russia’s Putin declares 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine war for Orthodox Easter

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over the Orthodox Easter weekend.

Mr Putin’s decree, released by the Kremlin, orders Russian forces to observe a ceasefire starting at 4pm on Saturday and lasting until the end of Sunday.

Mr Putin’s move follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal earlier this week to observe a pause in attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure over the Orthodox Easter.

He said he made the offer through the United States, which has been mediating talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv as Russia’s invasion stretches into a fifth year.

Previous attempts to secure ceasefires have had little or no impact.

Mr Putin unilaterally declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of breaking it.

The Kremlin statement announcing the ceasefire said that “orders have been issued for this period to cease hostilities in all directions”, adding that “troops are to be prepared to counter any possible provocations by the enemy, as well as any aggressive actions”.

“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation,” it said.

Russia has effectively rejected a 30-day unconditional truce proposed last year by the US and Ukraine as a step towards peace, insisting instead on a comprehensive settlement, but Moscow has announced several short, unilateral ceasefires.

The US-led talks have made no progress on key issues, and Washington’s attention has switched to the Middle East conflict while the Russian and Ukrainian armies remain locked in battle on the roughly 800-mile front line.