President Putin Announces Ceasefire with Ukraine During Orthodox Easter

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a ceasefire with Ukraine during the Orthodox Easter holidays, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

The Kremlin announcement came after Ukraine also proposed a pause in the fighting that broke out in 2022.

"A ceasefire is announced from 16:00 (13:00 GMT) on April 11 until the end of the day on April 12, 2026" by (President) Putin, "in connection with the upcoming Orthodox Easter celebrations," the Kremlin said in a statement, launching Al Arabiya (10/4).

The General Staff "has been instructed to stop combat operations in all directions during this period," the Kremlin said, adding that troops were ready to "repel any possible provocations by the enemy."

"We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation," he added.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that he had passed a holiday ceasefire proposal through the United States, as talks to end the four-year conflict were stalled by the Middle East.

The Russian-Ukrainian war has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions, making it the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Several rounds of US-led talks have failed to bring the warring parties closer to an agreement, and have been further hampered as Washington's attention turns to Iran.

Negotiations also appeared to be at an impasse, with Moscow demanding territorial and political concessions from Kyiv that President Zelensky has rejected as tantamount to surrender.