Referring to humanitarian reasons, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary suspension of Easter weapons in Ukraine from Saturday, when Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of captured soldiers on the largest stock exchange since the full Moscow invasion over three years ago.
According to the Kremlin, the arms suspension will start on Saturday at 18:00 Moscow time (11:00 et), and end at midnight after Easter Sunday.
“We assume that the Ukrainian side follows our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to push away possible violations of truce and provocation from the enemy, any of his aggressive actions,” said Putin at a meeting with the head of general staff Valery Gerasimov, in a film made available by the Kremlin.
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called the suspension of weapons “another attempt by Putin to play with human life.” He wrote on X that “notifications on rallies spread in Ukraine”, and “Shahed Don in our sky reveal Putin's real approach to Easter and human life.”
Russia rejected a full temporary suspension of weapons
In response to the announcement of the suspension of weapons, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrian Sybiha said that Kijv in March “agreed unconditionally to the proposal of the American transitional suspension of weapons for 30 days”, which Russia rejected.
“Putin made statements about his alleged readiness to suspend a weapon. Thirty hours instead of 30 days,” he continued Sibiha, writing about X. “Unfortunately, we had a long history of his statements that do not match his actions.”
Meanwhile, both sides exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war on Saturday. Russia, the Ministry of Defense said that 246 members of Russian service were returned from the territory controlled by Kijiv, and that “as a gesture of good will” of 31 wounded Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred in exchange for 15 wounded Russian soldiers in need of urgent medical care.
Zelenskyy said that 277 Ukrainian “warriors” returned home from Russian captivity.
Both sides thanked the United Arab Emirates for their mediation.
The announcement of Putin suspended weapons occurred after US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia “come to mind” and insisted that none of the parties “did not play” in his pursuit of the end of a lasting three -year war.
Trump said soon after Warned the Secretary of State Marco Rubio The fact that the United States can “pass” from an attempt to secure the Russian-Ukrain peace agreement, if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts it did not end in the fight.
US President Donald Trump says that the US can “go” about the brokerage of peace conversations between Ukraine and Russia, unless progress soon occurs, but he hopes that this will not happen. Russia has many weapon suspension conditions that Ukraine refuses to meet.
In January 2023, Putin ordered his forces in Ukraine to observe a unilateral, 36-hour suspension of weapons for orthodox Christmas. Zelenskyy rejected it as playing on time to prepare additional attacks.
Russia fighting to repeat the entire Kursk region again
On Saturday, the Ministry of Defense of Russia informed that his forces were pushed by the Ukrainian army from the village of Oleshnya, one of their last abutments in the Russian Kursk region, where the Ukrainians staged an unexpected invasion last year.
Gerasimov said on Saturday in a report to Putin, quoted by Russian state media that Russia regained almost the entire territory of Ukrainian forces.
“The main part of the territory of the region in which the invasion took place now was liberated. It is 1260 square kilometers, 99.5 percent,” said Gerasimov.
Zelenskyy wrote about X that the Ukrainian forces “continued their activities in the Kursk region and take their positions.”
The Associated Press was unable to immediately verify Russia's claim. Russian and North Korean soldiers almost deprived Kiev from a key tender by recovering most of the region.
According to the Russian press agency TASS, Russia is still fighting to push Ukrainian forces from the village of Gornal, about 11 kilometers south of Oleshny.
“The Russian army still has to push the Ukrainian armed forces from Gornal … To completely free the Kursk region. In the settlement, fierce battles are underway,” the agency said, citing Russian security agencies.
In other events, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia released 87 exploding drones and lures in the last wave of attacks from day to day on Saturday. It was found that 33 of them were intercepted and another 36 were lost, it was probably electronically blocked.
Russian attacks damaged farms in the region of Odesa and caused fires in the region of sums from day to day, as reported on Saturday on Saturday of Ukraine. Fires were concluded and no victims were reported.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that her air defense systems shot down two Ukrainian drones on Saturday.