Putin announces a 30-hour Easter truce, but Zelensky is wary

MoscowThey asked for a 30-day truce, and Vladimir Putin granted 30 hours. The Russian president announced a ceasefire this Saturday for Orthodox Easter, which began at six in the evening (five in Catalonia) and is expected to last until midnight on Sunday. The gesture, more symbolic than effective, It is a further step in the Kremlin's negotiating strategy, which is trying to please Donald Trump after the US president warned Russians and Ukrainians that if there was no progress in the negotiations "within days", The United States could abandon mediation efforts.

Putin announced the decision after meeting with the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerassimov, and expressed confidence that Ukraine would join the truce. "Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 6 p.m. until midnight on Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce. I order that all military operations be halted during this period. We proceed from the assumption that the Ukrainian side will follow our example," said the Russian president.

Ukraine, however, has reacted with skepticism. Volodymyr Zelensky avoided taking a position on the ceasefire, but criticized the fact that at 5:15 p.m., 45 minutes before it was due to come into effect, he had to activate an air raid siren due to a Russian drone attack. "The Shahed [drones] in our skies are Putin's true attitude toward Easter and people's lives," the Ukrainian president wrote. Ukrainian media also reported a drone crash into a residential building in Kherson five minutes before 6 p.m.

Even more forceful was Foreign Minister Andri Sibiha, who does not trust Putin. "Unfortunately, we have a long history of his statements that do not match his actions. We know that his words cannot be trusted, and we will look not at words, but at actions," he said. Sibiha also lamented that on March 11, Washington and Kiev proposed a one-month truce, which the Kremlin leader rejected.

Moratorium on attacks on energy infrastructure expires

The Russian president's move comes the day after Moscow ended the 30-day moratorium on attacks on energy infrastructure, which Putin also unilaterally declared on March 18. In recent weeks, the Kremlin has daily accused Ukraine of violating the truce, despite the fact that independent analysts have found no evidence of any of the bombings reported by the Russian Defense Ministry.

In fact, using this pretext, Putin has threatened to respond to any alleged Ukrainian attack during the 30-hour extension of the Easter truce. "We know that the Kiev regime violated the agreement not to attack energy infrastructure more than 100 times," he said, and asked Gerasimov to ensure that the soldiers remain "very alert and focused" and "ready to respond immediately and with all their strength."

The Russian Orthodox Church, which blessed the invasion of Ukraine, welcomed the initiative, arguing that "holiday truces are an ancient Christian custom." Patriarch Kirill I had already proposed a ceasefire in January 2023, coinciding with Orthodox Christmas. Putin also unilaterally agreed to it at that time, but Zelensky refused, calling it a "cynical" maneuver, and Russian troops also failed to comply.

Prisoner Exchange

This Saturday, Russia and Ukraine also carried out a prisoner exchange, the largest since the start of the war. The Russian army handed over 277 Ukrainian soldiers, 31 of them wounded, while the Ukrainian army released 261 Russian soldiers, 15 of them wounded.

During the meeting between Putin and Gerasimov, the Russian chief of staff also stated that Moscow's troops have already recaptured 99.5% of the Kursk region, partially occupied since August by the Ukrainian army. Zelensky immediately denied this and insisted that Kiev's forces "maintain activity and positions" in this area.

In parallel, Russia announced that it has occupied an important town on the outskirts of Pokrovsk, in Donetsk, where one of Ukraine's largest lithium deposits is located. It is Shevchenko, a town of about 1,600 inhabitants. The conquest comes just days after Kiev and Washington signed an agreement for the exploitation of Ukrainian rare earth minerals And while Moscow is trying to tempt Trump with business offers to work together to obtain these types of metals, which are essential for the manufacture of electric batteries.