Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday declared a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Easter, citing humanitarian concerns, as Russia and Ukraine conducted the largest prisoner exchange since the full-scale invasion began over three years ago.

According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire is scheduled to last from 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday until midnight (2100 GMT) following Easter Sunday. In a video shared by the Kremlin’s Press Service, President Putin stated, “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,” while addressing Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the gesture, describing it as “another attempt by Putin to play with human lives.” In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote, “Air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine,” and “Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life.”

Responding to the ceasefire announcement, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated on X that Kyiv had already “agreed unconditionally to the U.S. proposal of a full interim ceasefire for 30 days” back in March, which Russia had refused. “Putin has now made statements about his alleged readiness for a ceasefire. 30 hours instead of 30 days,” Sybiha wrote, adding, “Unfortunately, we have had a long history of his statements not matching his actions.”

Russia And Ukraine Swap Hundreds Of Prisoners In Largest Exchange Since War

Meanwhile, both sides carried out a major prisoner exchange on Saturday. Russia’s Ministry of Defence confirmed that 246 Russian service members had been returned from Ukrainian-controlled territory. As part of the exchange, “31 wounded Ukrainian POWs were transferred in exchange for 15 wounded Russian soldiers in need of urgent medical care,” described as a “gesture of goodwill.”

President Zelenskyy said 277 Ukrainian “warriors” had returned home from Russian captivity. Both Moscow and Kyiv expressed their gratitude to the United Arab Emirates for mediating the exchange.

The ceasefire announcement also follows remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Friday claimed that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his efforts to end the war.

Trump’s comments came shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned that Washington might “move on” from its attempts to broker peace if progress is not seen in the coming days, after several months of diplomatic efforts have yielded little result.

In January 2023, Putin had similarly ordered a unilateral 36-hour ceasefire to mark Orthodox Christmas, which Zelenskyy had dismissed as a ploy to regroup and prepare further attacks.

Russia Says Ukrainian Troops Pushed Out Of Last Remaining Footholds In Kursk Region

The ceasefire announcement coincided with Russia’s Defence Ministry claiming that its forces had pushed Ukrainian troops out of one of their last remaining footholds in the Kursk region. The Ministry said Russian forces had taken control of the village of Oleshnya, located on the border with Ukraine.

Citing Russian security agencies, state news agency TASS reported that fighting continues in the village of Gornal, situated around 11 kilometres south of Oleshnya. “The Russian military has yet to push the Ukrainian armed forces out of Gornal … in order to completely liberate the Kursk region. Fierce fighting is underway in the settlement,” the agency reported.

According to the report, Russian and North Korean soldiers have significantly weakened Ukraine’s bargaining position by retaking most of the region, which saw a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 87 exploding drones and decoys in an overnight wave of attacks into Saturday. Of these, 33 were intercepted and another 36 were likely electronically jammed.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Russian attacks damaged farms in the Odesa region and caused fires in the Sumy region overnight. The fires were brought under control and no casualties were reported.

Russia’s Defence Ministry also stated that its air defence systems had shot down two Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday.