Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an “eastern truce” with Ukraine, instructing the Kremlin troops to stop and fight temporarily until Sunday night.
Putin announced a brief ceasefire at a meeting of chiefs of staff with Russian armed forces Valery Gerasimov on Saturday.
The Russian president said: “Under the guidance of humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 to 00:00 on Sunday to Monday, the Russian side announced an Easter truce. I ordered all military operations to be stopped during this period.”
“We assume that Ukraine will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be prepared to repel the truce and provocation that may violate the enemy,” Putin said on Saturday.
Shortly after Putin’s speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russian president of playing “human life” and added that the Kremlin drone was still flying in Kiev aviation.
Zelensky wrote in a Saturday post on social media platforms: “At this moment, air raid sirens are spreading across Ukraine. At 17:15, Russian attack drones were found in our sky. Ukrainian air defense and aviation have begun efforts to protect us.
France-Presse reported that air alerts in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, stopped at 6 p.m. local time.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense and Zelensky, the two sides also exchanged at least 240 prisoners of war on Saturday.
“Our people are home – one of the best news. Another 277 Warriors returned home from Russian captivity,” Zelensky said in another X post on Saturday. “The warriors of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukrainian National Guard, State Special Transport Services and Border Guards. They defended Mariupol and other instructions in the Mariupol and Donetsk, Kherson, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk areas.”
According to Zelensky, since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, Ukraine has been able to seize 4,552 people (civilians and fighters) from Russian imprisonment from Russia.
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