BREAKING: Putin Declares Easter Ceasefire As Russia And Ukraine Exchange Hundreds Of Prisoners Of War

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine over the Easter weekend, citing humanitarian grounds. The announcement coincided with the largest prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine since the onset of Moscow’s full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

The Kremlin said the ceasefire would take effect from 6 p.m. Moscow time (1600 WAT) on Saturday and continue until midnight (2200 WAT) on Easter Sunday.

“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions,” Putin said during a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, as seen in a video released by the Kremlin’s Press Service.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the move as “another attempt by Putin to play with human lives.” In a post on X, he said: “Air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine,” adding that “Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life.”

Reacting to the announcement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha recalled that Kyiv had “agreed unconditionally to the US proposal of a full interim ceasefire for 30 days” in March, but said Russia rejected it.

“Putin has now made statements about his alleged readiness for a ceasefire. 30 hours instead of 30 days,” Sybiha wrote on X. “Unfortunately, we have had a long history of his statements not matching his actions.”