Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a short Easter ceasefire in the Ukraine war, starting Saturday evening until midnight on Sunday. The announcement comes after former U.S. President Donald Trump urged both Russia and Ukraine to agree on a truce, though he hasn’t achieved any solid commitments from Moscow.

Putin, speaking on TV alongside Russian chief of staff Valery Gerasimov, said the ceasefire was for humanitarian reasons during Easter, a major Christian holiday. He said all Russian military actions would pause during this time and hoped Ukraine would do the same.

However, Putin warned that Russian troops should stay alert in case of attacks or provocations. He accused Ukraine of repeatedly breaking past agreements, including targeting energy infrastructure.

On Friday, Russia dropped its own restrictions on striking Ukrainian energy targets, blaming Ukraine for not following an earlier informal understanding.

Putin said the new truce would test Ukraine’s honesty and willingness to join peace talks. Previous ceasefire efforts, like those in April 2022 and January 2023, failed due to lack of agreement from both sides.

Source: NDTV