Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the Prosecutor General's Office Board in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia’s Putin declares a ceasefire in Ukraine for Orthodox Easter

by · CityNews

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over the Orthodox Easter weekend.

Putin’s decree, released by the Kremlin, orders Russian forces to observe a ceasefire starting on 4 p.m. Saturday and lasting until the end of Sunday.

Putin’s move follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal earlier this week to observe a pause in attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure over the Orthodox Easter.

He said he made the offer through the United States, which has been mediating talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv as the conflict stretches into a fifth year.

The Associated Press