Putin declared a cease-fire from 4 p.m. on April 11 until the end of April 12.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a truce in the special military operation in Ukraine on the occasion of Orthodox Easter.
“A cease-fire is declared from 4 p.m. (1 p.m. GMT) on April 11 until the end of April 12, 2026,” the Kremlin said.
The Russian military command has been instructed to halt hostilities on all fronts during that period. However, troops will be “prepared to counter any possible provocations or aggressive actions by the enemy.”
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that the truce will take place exclusively for Orthodox Easter.
“As we have said repeatedly and as President Putin has stated, we do not want a cease-fire, we want peace — a lasting and sustainable peace,” he said, specifying that the truce has “a humanitarian character” because Easter is a sacred holiday for both Russians and Ukrainians.
The Kremlin has previously rejected Ukrainian proposals for a prolonged cease-fire. According to Moscow, the cessation of hostilities should be agreed upon by accepting Russian demands, which have remained virtually unchanged since the start of the special military operation. Russia has also warned that Ukraine could use a truce to strengthen its positions without ultimately reaching an agreement.
The latest cease-fire “does not allow the Ukrainian side to use it in any way to gain a military advantage, regroup or undertake actions that could alter its military position. Russia will not grant such favors to anyone,” said Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s representative for Ukraine.
The Easter truce will be the fourth cease-fire since 2022. The first truce was declared in 2023 for Orthodox Christmas, from Jan. 6-8, and the second for Easter 2025, from April 19-21. A third cease-fire was declared from May 8-11 of last year, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Red Army’s victory over Germany in World War II.
Meanwhile, negotiations to find a solution to the conflict remain on pause since the last trilateral round held in Geneva in mid-February.
[ SOURCE: teleSUR ]
