Russia and Ukraine Agree to Easter Truce
- Russia and Ukraine agreed to a 32-hour ceasefire to observe Orthodox Easter, though reports indicate the truce was marred by hundreds of alleged violations.
- The ceasefire was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin and confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- President Putin stated that he ordered Russian troops to cease fire in all directions for the duration of the holiday weekend.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to a 32-hour ceasefire to observe Orthodox Easter, though reports indicate the truce was marred by hundreds of alleged violations. The agreement aimed to provide a humanitarian pause in the four-year-old conflict, allowing civilians and soldiers a reprieve from the ongoing fighting.
The ceasefire was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin and confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to the Kremlin, the pause in military operations began at 16:00 Moscow time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday, April 11, 2026, and was scheduled to run until midnight on Sunday, April 12, 2026.
Terms and Implementation
President Putin stated that he ordered Russian troops to cease fire in all directions
for the duration of the holiday weekend. The Kremlin confirmed that Defence Minister Andrei Belousov instructed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov to halt military operations during this period.
Despite the order to halt operations, the Kremlin noted that Russian forces remained ready to respond to any violations. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, emphasized that the ceasefire was temporary and of an exclusively humanitarian nature
, ruling out the possibility of a permanent end to the strikes.
President Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine had previously proposed a similar pause for the Easter holiday and would act in kind. He noted on Telegram that Ukraine was ready for reciprocal steps
, expressing hope that the pause would represent a real move towards peace
and that Russia would choose not to return to attacks after the holiday.
Reports of Violations
Despite the mutual agreement, the ceasefire was reportedly breached. Reports indicate that both Ukraine and Russia accused one another of hundreds of violations during the truce period.
Specific reports highlight that Russia broke the Easter ceasefire 469 times, which included a strike on an ambulance.
Humanitarian Context
The truce was sought to provide relief to civilians and military personnel. In eastern Ukraine, soldiers have been under relentless pressure from attack drones, while civilians across the country face daily air raid sirens and strikes from Russian missiles and drones. In the south-east, a drone strike recently targeted a bus in Nikopol, resulting in several deaths.
The pause coincided with a period of decreased activity in U.S.-led efforts to secure a broader settlement for the conflict. Prior to the announcement, President Zelenskyy had requested that the United States relay a proposal for a holiday weekend truce to Moscow as a preliminary step toward peace.
Religious observations continued during the period, with Metropolitan Epiphanius I, the head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, blessing Easter cakes to be delivered to Ukrainian servicemen on the front line.