Russian President Vladimir Putin said there would be a pause in fighting against Ukraine in the Easter weekend.
He said the ceasefire will begin Saturday 6.pm and run till Monday.
“For this period, I order to stop all fighting,” he said in a translated statement. “We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops should be prepared to reflect possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions.”
Following Mr. Putin’s announcement, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Ukraine returned 246 Russian soldiers in exchange for 246 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lauded their return, saying on X, “One of the best pieces of news that can be. … The warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, the State Special Transport Service, and the border guards. They defended Mariupol and other directions in the Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk regions.”
He added, “I thank everyone who made this return of our people possible. I am especially grateful to the United Arab Emirates for their mediation.”
He made no mention of the temporary truce in his post, and earlier he said that “air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine.”
“At 17:15, Russian attack drones were detected in our skies,” Mr. Zelenskyy said. “Ukrainian air defense and aviation have already begun working to protect us. Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life.”
