Vladimir Putin announces Orthodox Easter ceasefire with Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has declared a 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over the Orthodox Easter weekend, after an earlier call from Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a pause.The president’s decree, released by the Kremlin on Thursday, orders Russian forces to observe a ceasefire starting on 4pm Saturday and lasting until the end of Sunday.Zelenskyy proposed earlier in the week that each side stop targeting the other’s energy infrastructure over the holiday, saying he made the offer through the US, which has been mediating talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv as Russia’s invasion stretches into a fifth year.There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to Putin’s announcement.Previous attempts to secure ceasefires have had little or no impact. Putin unilaterally declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of breaking it.The Kremlin statement announcing the ceasefire said: “Orders have been issued for this period to cease hostilities in all directions,” adding: “Troops are to be prepared to counter any possible provocations by the enemy, as well as any aggressive actions.”“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation,” it said.Russia has effectively rejected a 30-day unconditional truce proposed last year by the US and Ukraine as a step towards peace, insisting instead on a comprehensive settlement, but Moscow has announced several short, unilateral ceasefires.The US-led talks have made no progress on key issues, and Washington’s attention has switched to the Middle East conflict while the Russian and Ukrainian armies remain locked in battle on the roughly 800-mile (1,250-km) frontline.