Action by the strong: Putin announces Easter truce until April 21

Russia declared an Easter truce and stopped all hostilities from 18:00 (Moscow time) on April 19 to 00:00 (Moscow time) on April 21. Vladimir Putin said this at a meeting with the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, First Deputy Defense Minister Valery Gerasimov on April 19. The President called on Kiev to follow Moscow's example: their reaction will show Ukraine's real desire to participate in peace negotiations. The Russian Federation has always been ready for them and welcomes the efforts of the United States, China and other countries to resolve the crisis. At the same time, Russian troops should be prepared for possible provocations from Ukraine, as Kiev has violated the moratorium on strikes on energy facilities more than 100 times, Vladimir Putin warned. Experts say that this is a good step towards a long-term truce, but it is unlikely that it will come in the near future.

Details of the Easter Truce

Vladimir Putin met with Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, in the Kremlin on Saturday, April 19. After the report of the head of the General Staff, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief announced the Easter truce.

— Based on humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 to 00:00 from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side announces the Easter truce. I am ordering a halt to all military operations for this period. We believe that the Ukrainian side will follow our example," the head of state said.

At the same time, Russian troops must be prepared for possible violations of the truce by Kiev, and repel any provocations and aggressive actions. The Ministry of Defense has already reported that the ceasefire regime in the zone of self-defense is being introduced for humanitarian purposes, and Russian troops will follow it, provided that Ukrainian forces comply with it. In particular, Kiev's failure to comply with a 30-day moratorium on attacks on energy infrastructure is being questioned.

— We know that the Kiev regime has violated agreements on non-strikes on energy infrastructure more than 100 times, as you reported to me. Therefore, I ask you to be extremely attentive and collected, to be ready for an immediate response in full," the head of state said.

The decision on the Easter truce will show the willingness and ability to comply with the agreements and participate in the process of peace negotiations to eliminate the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis. Russia has always been ready for negotiations and welcomes the efforts of the United States, China and the BRICS countries, as well as all supporters of a just settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said.

It is noteworthy that on the eve of the US President Donald Trump said that his country is ready to withdraw from negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict in Ukraine if one of the parties sabotages Washington's efforts.

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has already welcomed the Russian president's statement, as truces on holidays are an ancient Christian custom.

Immediately after the announcement of the truce, the Ministry of Defense announced that Russia and Ukraine had exchanged prisoners according to the formula "246 for 246." Moscow also handed over 31 wounded prisoners of war to Kiev. In exchange, Russia returned 15 wounded soldiers who need urgent medical attention.

Will the Easter truce lead to long-term peace

According to experts, the announcement of the Easter truce by Moscow first shows not only the real readiness of the Russian Federation to achieve long-term peace, recognition of the US role in the settlement attempt, but also will allow Kiev to openly declare its readiness or unwillingness to peace. In this gesture, Vladimir Putin shows that Moscow is taking another step towards a ceasefire in Ukraine, while Kiev and the EU have not yet done anything about it, said Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at the HSE Center for Mediterranean Studies.

— In many ways, it remains to be seen whether Kiev is ready to accept Putin's proposal or will finally disappoint Trump with its inability to negotiate. In this case, the American administration's position may become even stronger in favor of the fact that the United States needs to withdraw from the negotiation process due to the unwillingness of individual participants to achieve peace," he told Izvestia.

At the same time, Ivan Loshkarev, associate professor of the MGIMO Department of Political Theory, believes that this truce is, unfortunately, still a symbolic step: Russia is showing the United States and partners in the Global South that it is ready for dialogue, for launching a full-fledged negotiation process. But the current authorities of Ukraine, European countries and the UK are not ready yet.

— Kiev will try to attract attention to itself by accusing the Russian Federation of violating the truce. Ukraine's arsenal also includes possible actions on the border and demonstrative drone attacks on Russian territory. At the same time, the current Ukrainian authorities can publicly confirm their commitment to negotiations and agree to peace initiatives without taking real steps. Therefore, it is not worth waiting for practical results, especially in the near future," the expert believes.

Andrey Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Club, shares this opinion. According to him, it is unlikely to count on an early long-term truce, but this gesture allows us to hope for some real steps in resolving the crisis. Obviously, Kiev cannot abandon such a truce, since it will bear the full responsibility for disrupting the efforts of not only Russia and the United States, but in general the entire international community, which is quite unanimously in favor of this truce.

— Therefore, such a truce will probably be formally supported. However, the question arises as to how much the political leadership of Ukraine fully controls the situation along the line of contact. That is, what is the degree of autonomy of those units, units, battalions, units, mercenaries who are currently involved in the conflict," the expert added.

What is the situation in the combat zone

At the moment, the situation on the line of contact is developing in a favorable way for our country: Russian troops are moving forward step by step, confidently, the president said.

Valery Gerasimov, in a report to Vladimir Putin, said that all six Russian groups are attacking in 11 directions during a special military operation. According to him, the Russian Armed Forces have liberated most of the territories of the Kursk region.: This is 1,260 square kilometers or 99.5%. There are two areas left where fighting is going on: This is the area of the settlements of Oleshnya and Gornal. They are located directly at the border with Ukraine. The Russian Armed Forces are now completing the cleansing of the territory of the St. Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery in the village of Gornal from Ukrainian units.

— The areas themselves are small, but the enemy has concentrated its main efforts there to hold them, actively using drones and cluster munitions. Our forces and means of counter—battery warfare defeat enemy artillery and carry out a set of retaliatory measures to counter drones," Valery Gerasimov said.

Vladimir Putin instructed the head of the General Staff to make a separate report after the completion of the cleansing of the Kursk region and other border areas from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Valery Gerasimov added that, having failed in the Kursk border area, the enemy tried to make a breakthrough into the Belgorod region in the areas of the settlements of Demidovka and Popovka, which are adjacent to the Kursk region.

"Attempts to infiltrate significant enemy forces into our territory have been stopped, currently there is no enemy in the Demidovka area, the entire territory there has been cleared. Separate infiltrated small groups of up to 12 people are located in the forest south of Popovka. They are blocked, their destruction is underway, and these areas have been isolated," Gerasimov concluded.