Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, the Kremlin announced on Saturday. The truce is set to last from 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday until midnight (2100 GMT) following Easter Sunday.
“Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 to 00:00 from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce. I order that all military actions be stopped for this period,” Putin said during a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, news agency AP reported citing the Kremlin’s Press Service.
He added, “We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions.”
Russia Says Ukrainian Troops Pushed Out Of Last Remaining Footholds In Kursk Region
The ceasefire announcement coincided with Russia’s Defence Ministry claiming that its forces had pushed Ukrainian troops out of one of their last remaining footholds in the Kursk region. The Ministry said Russian forces had taken control of the village of Oleshnya, located on the border with Ukraine.
Citing Russian security agencies, state news agency TASS reported that fighting continues in the village of Gornal, situated around 11 kilometres south of Oleshnya. “The Russian military has yet to push the Ukrainian armed forces out of Gornal … in order to completely liberate the Kursk region. Fierce fighting is underway in the settlement,” the agency reported.
According to the report, Russian and North Korean soldiers have significantly weakened Ukraine’s bargaining position by retaking most of the region, which saw a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 87 exploding drones and decoys in an overnight wave of attacks into Saturday. Of these, 33 were intercepted and another 36 were likely electronically jammed.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Russian attacks damaged farms in the Odesa region and caused fires in the Sumy region overnight. The fires were brought under control and no casualties were reported.
Russia’s Defence Ministry also stated that its air defence systems had shot down two Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday.
