Putin declares Easter ceasefire in Ukraine as hundreds of prisoners are exchanged

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, citing humanitarian reasons, during a Kremlin meeting.

The ceasefire will last from 6 p.m. Moscow time Saturday until midnight Sunday, coinciding with Easter celebrations, according to the Kremlin.

“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,” Putin said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said afterward that 246 Russian soldiers were also returned from Ukraine to Russia in exchange for 246 Ukrainian prisoners of war, describing the swap “as a result of negotiations.”"As a gesture of goodwill, 31 wounded prisoners of war were handed over in exchange for 15 wounded Russian servicemen requiring urgent medical care," the statement read.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that "277 warriors" had returned home from captivity, accompanied by a video of the group, each draped in Ukrainian flags, upon their return.

But signs of continued hostilities quickly cast doubt on the ceasefire's durability.

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In a separate post on X, Zelenskyy said air raid alerts were "spreading across Ukraine” after Russian attack drones were spotted in Ukrainian air space, and he accused Putin of trying to "play with human lives."

“Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life,” he said, referring to the Iranian-made drones. “Ukrainian air defense and aviation have already started working to defend ourselves."

Putin made the s announcement a day after President Donald Trump said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia were “coming to a head.”

"If for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say you’re foolish. You are fools, you horrible people,” he said. “And we’re going to just take a pass. But hopefully, we won’t have to do that.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Friday that the United States may be ready to “move on” from its efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine if there was no clear progress in the coming days.

“We need to figure out here now, within a matter of days, whether this is doable in the short term, because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on,” he said.

U.S., Ukrainian and European officials endured a grueling day of talks in Paris as Rubio told reporters that the United States was “not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end.”

It remains unclear whether the ceasefire is a genuine step toward de-escalation or a strategic pause influenced by mounting international pressure and Trump’s rhetoric. 

In January 2023, a ceasefire Putin ordered unilaterally to coincide with the start of Orthodox Christmas was rejected by Ukraine and its allies as a cynical move aimed at gaining time on the battlefield and favor with the public.