Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Orthodox Easter, the Kremlin announced on Saturday.
The truce will be in effect from 6:00 p.m. Moscow time (15:00 GMT) on Saturday until midnight from Sunday to Monday (21:00 GMT), according to the official statement. “Guided by humanitarian considerations, the Russian side declares an Easter truce. I order all military actions to be suspended during this period,” Putin said during a meeting with Chief of the General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov.
The president expressed hope that Ukraine would follow suit but warned that Russian troops must remain alert for any potential ceasefire violations or provocations. “Our soldiers must be ready to repel any aggressive actions,” he stressed.
The announcement came as Russian forces intensified operations in the Kursk region, where the Defense Ministry claimed to have taken control of the village of Oleshnya, near the Ukrainian border. According to state-run news agency TASS, fighting is ongoing in the village of Gornal, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) to the south, where Ukrainian forces are resisting Russian advances.
“The Kursk region has not yet been fully liberated. Heavy fighting is taking place in Gornal,” the agency reported, citing Russian security sources. Moscow claims that its troops, supported by North Korea, have regained most of the territory, significantly weakening one of Kyiv’s key bargaining chips following last year’s Ukrainian incursion into the area.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Air Force reported that Russia launched a massive drone attack early Saturday, deploying 87 drones, including explosives and decoys. Of these, 33 were intercepted and another 36 were likely neutralized by electronic jamming, the statement said.
The strikes caused damage to farming facilities in the Odesa region and triggered fires in Sumy, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. The fires were brought under control and no casualties were reported.
Russia’s Defense Ministry also reported that its air defense systems shot down two Ukrainian drones overnight.
