Putin and Zelenskyy Agree to 32-Hour Ceasefire for Orthodox Easter Celebrations

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to coincide with Orthodox Easter, set to begin at 16:00 Moscow time on Saturday, April 11, and run until the end of Sunday, April 12, 2026. The Kremlin issued a formal statement on Thursday, April 9, declaring the pause in fighting "by decision of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Kyiv would honor the truce, noting that Ukraine had already proposed a similar pause days earlier. The announcement came without prior coordination between the two sides, with the Kremlin making clear it was a unilateral declaration rather than a negotiated agreement.

Belousov orders Gerasimov to halt all front-line operations Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov issued an order to Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov to cease combat operations across all directions for the duration of the truce. The Kremlin statement specified that Russian forces would nonetheless remain on alert and ready to respond to any provocations from the Ukrainian side. Zelenskyy, writing on Telegram, framed Ukraine's acceptance as consistent with proposals Kyiv had already advanced. „Ukraine has repeatedly stated that we are ready for reciprocal steps. We proposed a ceasefire during the Easter holiday this year and will act accordingly.” — Volodymyr Zelenskyy via Al Jazeera He added that Russia had an opportunity to extend the pause beyond Easter and not resume attacks. Earlier in the week, Zelenskyy said he had transmitted a truce proposal for the Easter period to Moscow via the United States, including a proposed halt to strikes on energy infrastructure. The Kremlin's announcement made no reference to Zelenskyy's prior proposal, reinforcing that the two declarations remained parallel rather than coordinated.

Kremlin confirms ceasefire was not discussed with Washington or Kyiv Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Friday that Moscow had not discussed the Easter ceasefire in advance with either Ukraine or the United States, responding to a question from the Russian state agency TASS. Peskov also indicated the announcement carried no link to broader negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. The declaration is the fourth temporary ceasefire since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The three previous ceasefires were: the first for Orthodox Christmas 2023, running from January 6 to 8 of that year; the second for Orthodox Easter 2025, from April 19 to 21; and the third from May 8 to 11, 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. In each case, both Moscow and Kyiv accused the other of violating the pause in fighting. The Easter 2025 ceasefire lasted approximately 30 hours before both sides resumed offensive operations, with Zelenskyy at the time reporting dozens of Russian attacks during the truce period. Despite the announcement, attacks continued in eastern Ukraine on Friday, with Dnipropetrovsk region governor Oleksandr Ganzha reporting that Russian drones and artillery struck three districts of the region nearly 30 times, killing two people. „The enemy attacked three districts of the region almost 30 times with drones and artillery.” — Oleksandr Ganzha via Al Jazeera

Temporary ceasefires in the Russia-Ukraine war: — ; — ; — ; —

Peace talks remain frozen as Washington focuses on Iran Broader diplomatic efforts to end the war have remained stalled since the last trilateral round of talks, held in Geneva in mid-February 2026. The conflict in Iran, which drew intensive American diplomatic and military attention from late February 2026, effectively halted the peace process. Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukraine was still awaiting visits from American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with whom a meeting had been scheduled. The Ukrainian president warned that the coming spring-summer period would be "quite difficult politically and diplomatically" and that Ukraine might face growing pressure from international partners. On the humanitarian front, Al Jazeera reported that Russia and Ukraine recently exchanged soldiers' remains, with Moscow handing over the remains of in exchange for 41 Russian bodies. According to Al Jazeera's reporting from Moscow, more than 19,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers have been returned to Kyiv since the start of the war, with these exchanges — often mediated by Türkiye — remaining one of the few functioning lines of communication between the two sides.