Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine during the Easter weekend, allowing both countries to carry out a large prisoner exchange.
The Russian government said the ceasefire began at 6 p.m. Moscow time (4 p.m. in Nigeria) on Saturday and would last until midnight on Easter Sunday.
This short break in fighting came as Russia and Ukraine carried out their biggest prisoner swap since the war began over three years ago.
During a meeting with the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, President Putin said, “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.”
But Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was not impressed. He called the move “another attempt by Putin to play with human lives.” In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he said, “Air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine. Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life.”
Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, also criticised the move. He said Ukraine had already agreed in March to a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, but Russia had refused 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.”
Despite the tense words, both sides successfully exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war during the short Easter truce. The details of the number of people swapped have not been fully released.
