Russia-Ukraine Orthodox Easter ceasefire begins

Both sides have agreed to observe the temporary truce, as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war continue to stall.A temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine has come into force, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying Kyiv would respect it if Moscow did.The ceasefire is due to last for 32 hours, from 4:00pm local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday until midnight on Sunday, according to the Kremlin.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Smell’ of war comes to St Petersburg as Ukraine hammers Russian refinerieslist 2 of 3Ukraine strikes Russian Black Sea energy hub Novorossiysklist 3 of 3Ukraine hits port in Russia’s Primorsk, oil refinery in Nizhny Novgorodend of listRussian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the ceasefire on Thursday to coincide with Orthodox Easter celebrations, more than a week after Zelenskyy first made the proposal.Both sides have agreed to observe it.“Ukraine will adhere to the ceasefire and respond strictly in kind. The absence of Russian strikes in the air, on land, and at sea will mean no response from our side,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.The Ukrainian army said it was ready to “immediately” respond if Russia violated it.Hours before the truce started, Russia launched at least 160 drones at Ukraine, killing four people in the country’s east and south and wounding dozens, Ukrainian authorities said.The southern Odesa region was among the hardest hit, with authorities reporting two dead and damage to civilian infrastructure.Meanwhile, four people died in Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Kherson regions, according to Russian-installed officials.Ukrainians have expressed scepticism about whether the truce will hold.The two sides held a ceasefire for Orthodox Easter last year, but both accused the other of hundreds of violations.Despite tensions over the truce, the warring sides exchanged 175 prisoners of war each on Saturday, according to officials.