Egypt Daily News – Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine on Saturday during the Easter holiday, according to the Kremlin.
The ceasefire will last from 6:00 p.m. Moscow time (3:00 p.m. GMT) today until midnight on Sunday (9:00 p.m. GMT), according to the Kremlin.
The Kremlin press service quoted Putin during a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov as saying: “The Russian side, driven by humanitarian considerations, is declaring a ceasefire on the occasion of Easter today from 18:00 until midnight on Sunday. I am ordering a halt to all military actions during this period.” He added: “We expect the Ukrainian side to follow our lead. At the same time, our forces must be ready to repel any possible violations of the ceasefire, provocations by the enemy, or any hostile acts.”
The announcement came on the same day the Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces had pushed Ukrainian troops out of one of their last remaining strongholds in Russia’s Kursk region. The ministry added that Russian forces had taken control of the border village of Oleshnya.
