Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Deputy Prime Minister, Chief of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko during their meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits practice military skills at a training ground near the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Deputy Prime Minister, Chief of the Government Staff Dmitry Grigorenko during their meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
AZ
In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, recruits practice military skills at a training ground near the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over the Orthodox Easter weekend.
Putin’s decree, released by the Kremlin, orders Russian forces to observe a ceasefire starting on 4 p.m. Saturday and lasting until the end of Sunday.
Putin’s move follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’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 the conflict stretches into a fifth year.
Previous attempts to secure ceasefires have had little or no impact. Putin unilaterally declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of breaking it.
