Holiday news: Russia has resumed the Easter truce with Ukraine

Vladimir Putin announced a cease-fire in the free zone from 4 p.m. on April 11 until the end of the day on April 12. During the Easter truce, Russian troops were instructed to stop fighting in all directions, but to be ready to stop any enemy aggression. The Ukrainian Armed Forces may stage provocations, the Federation Council told Izvestia. Experts consider the temporary suspension of fighting to be an important humanitarian step, but point out that it is unlikely to lead to a breakthrough in the negotiations. At the same time, according to Western media reports, Kirill Dmitriev, the special representative of the Russian president, arrived in the United States to meet with representatives of the Trump administration.

Russia has declared an Easter truce

Vladimir Putin has decided to declare a truce in the zone of his military operation for the period from 16:00 on April 11 to the end of April 12, 2026 in connection with the upcoming Easter holiday, the Kremlin said. Moscow assumes that the Ukrainian side will follow its example.

"The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Andrei Belousov, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Commander of the United Group of Forces, Army General Valery Gerasimov, have been instructed to stop fighting in all directions for this period. The troops should be ready to stop possible provocations from the enemy, as well as any aggressive actions," the message on the president's website says.

There has been no official reaction from Ukraine yet. Vladimir Zelensky said at the end of March that Ukraine was ready for a ceasefire for the Easter holidays. On April 6, he announced that a proposal for an "energy truce" for Easter had been submitted to the Russian side through the United States.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces may stage provocations during this period, Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, said in an interview with Izvestia.

— This is not the first time we have encountered their meanness. But we'll see. Let's hope that they still understand that there are human values that cannot be touched and that must remain sacred to all believers," he told Izvestia. — This is a noble gesture of a believer. Easter is a great holiday for Orthodox Christians everywhere. I hope that our opponents, who are also mostly Orthodox, will appreciate this and follow the example set by Russia. Let's hope that they won't violate it, although there are big doubts about their decency.

Last year, Russia also declared an Easter truce, suspending hostilities from the evening of April 19 to April 21. As now, Moscow emphasized at the time that it assumed that Kiev would follow the example of the Russian side. At that time, the Russian Defense Ministry recorded 4,9 thousand violations by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

It is not necessary to expect that the truce will be complete and that Ukraine will fully adhere to it, Ivan Loshkarev, associate professor of the Department of Political Theory, told Izvestia. According to him, it is very unprofitable for Ukraine that Moscow demonstrates a humanitarian, Christian approach to the problem.

"There will certainly be some provocations aimed at accusing Russia of not complying with its own obligations," the political scientist believes.

In total, Russia has already declared a temporary ceasefire at least four times in connection with important Christian holidays and Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War. For example, Moscow announced a truce in January 2023, April 2025, and May of the same year. However, each time the Russian authorities reported violations by the Ukrainian Armed Forces after the end of the cessation of hostilities period.

Is there any chance of resuming negotiations

The announcement of the Easter truce took place against the background of some intensification of the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. The cessation of hostilities in the Middle East allows the United States to return to negotiations with Russia on this conflict.

In particular, according to Reuters, Kirill Dmitriev, the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, is in the United States, where he is meeting with representatives of the Donald Trump administration. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, noted the day before: Moscow is waiting for the resumption of consultations in a trilateral format. Recall that the last round of dialogue was held in Switzerland on February 17-18.

At the same time, the main obstacle to a peaceful settlement remains the position of Kiev, which refuses to withdraw the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the areas they occupy in the DPR. Earlier, Moscow said that Ukraine's withdrawal of troops from Donbass would facilitate the transition to a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict.

The announced truce is unlikely to become the basis for the resumption of trilateral negotiations between Russia, the United States and Ukraine, Vladimir Dzhabarov believes.

— But we are ready to negotiate. Our president talks about this all the time. Ukraine is not ready for negotiations or a cessation of hostilities, because Western Europe stands behind it, which aims to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia," the politician said.

Oleg Lyakhovenko, a senior researcher at the Faculty of Political Science at the Mikhail Lomonosov Moscow State University, also noted that the Easter truce does not mean any change in the objectives of the special operation or the abandonment of previously set tasks.

— It is not a truce that can revive the negotiation process, but very serious pressure from the West, both from the EU and the United States on Kiev. Or else there is very serious pressure at the front, which will imply obvious changes in the military situation, up to serious breakthroughs," said Ivan Loshkarev.

In the coming months, we can expect the continuation of shuttle diplomacy without concluding a formal legal agreement. The key factors remain the ability of the United States to put pressure on Kiev and the willingness of Europe to start a dialogue with the Russian Federation. Only under such conditions can we expect a breakthrough in the negotiation process, while the parties remain far from a compromise.