Putin announces Orthodox Easter ceasefire, Ukraine's Zelenskiy agrees

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a 32-hour ceasefire over a two-day period for Orthodox ‌Easter and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv would abide by the truce.

According to the Russian TASS state news agency, Putin announced the Easter truce from 4:00 p.m. Moscow time (1:00 p.m. GMT) on April 11 until midnight on April 12, 2026 (9:00 p.m. GMT). Russian troops were instructed to stop fighting on all directions but to be ready to stop “enemy aggression.”

Russia had declared an Easter truce in 2025 as well. Each side accused the other of violating ​it back then.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine 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," Reuters quoted the Ukrainian leader as saying in a statement. 

"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."