Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine as an 'Easter truce'.
The Kremlin said all 'military operations will stop from 6pm today (4pm UK time) until Monday.
'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,' Putin said at a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, in a video shared by the Kremlin's Press Service.
Russia has said it hoped Ukraine 'will follow our example' however President Volodymyr Zelensky instead accused Putin of 'playing with human lives' in a cryptic response on X.
He said: 'Yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives—at this moment, air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine.
'At 17:15, Russian attack drones were detected in our skies. Ukrainian air defense and aviation have already begun working to protect us.
'Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin's true attitude toward Easter and toward human life.'
Meanwhile, Britain today urged Russia to commit to a full ceasefire in Ukraine, 'not just a one-day pause'.
'Ukraine has committed to a full ceasefire. We urge Russia to do the same,' a British foreign ministry spokesperson said, adding that a pause would enable negotiations for a just and enduring peace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine (pictured today with Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov)
A view of the aftermath of a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv yesterday
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire following an attack in Mykolaiv on Thursday
'Now is the moment for Putin to show he is serious about peace by ending his horrible invasion,' the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in its statement.
Russia has claimed that Putin's actions were 'guided by humanitarian considerations.'
The truce offer came on the same day the two sides took part in the largest prisoner exchange of the war with 246 Russians returning home and 277 Ukrainians.
Yesterday, Putin's troops pushed Ukrainian forces from one of their last remaining footholds in Russia's Kursk region, officials said.
According to Russia´s Defense Ministry, its forces took control of the village of Oleshnya, on the border with Ukraine.
'Units of the `North´ military group have liberated the village of Oleshnya in the Kursk region during active offensive operations,' the ministry said in a statement. The Associated Press was unable to immediately verify the claim and there was no immediate response from Ukrainian officials.
The truce came days after US President Donald Trump said he was ready to walk away from trying to negotiate a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless progress is made, a top US official has warned.
If the president doesn't see signs that an agreement is on the horizon he will call it a day because he has 'other priorities' to focus on, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.
'We're not going to continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end. So we need to determine very quickly now, and I'm talking about a matter of days whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.
'If it is we're in. If it's not, then we have other priorities to focus on as well,' Rubio said in Paris, after meeting European and Ukrainian leaders.
Rubio said Trump was still interested in a deal but was willing to move on if there were no immediate signs of progress.
'If it's not possible, if we're so far apart that this is not going to happen, then I think the president's probably at a point where he's going to say, 'well, we're done', he said.
'The United States has been helping Ukraine over the last three years, and we want it to end, but it's not our war,' Rubio added.
Rubio was in the French capital on Thursday for talks with UK, EU and Ukrainian delegations and a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Donald Trump is ready to walk away from trying to negotiate a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless progress is made, a top US official warns
If the president doesn't see signs that an agreement is on the horizon he will call it a day because he has 'other priorities' to focus on, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday. Pictured: Marco Rubio meeting European and Ukrainian leaders in Paris
Pictured: Firefighters work at the site of a garment production factory hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine April 18, 2025
Meanwhile the US and Ukraine signed a memorandum as a first step towards the stalled minerals deal, according to Ukraine's economy minister.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the conference underscored the 'shared commitment to global security'.
Trump promised during his election campaign to end the war within his first 24 hours in the White House.
He moderated that claim on taking office, suggesting a deal by April or May, as obstacles mounted.
Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said Saturday its forces pushed Ukrainian troops from the village of Oleshnya, one of their last remaining footholds in Russia's Kursk region where the Ukrainians staged a surprise incursion last year.
Gerasimov said Saturday in a report to Putin, quoted by Russian state media, that Russia had retaken nearly all of the territory from Ukrainian forces.
'The main part of the region's territory, where the invasion took place, has now been liberated. This is 1,260 square kilometers, 99.5%,' Gerasimov said.
Zelenskyy wrote on X that Ukrainian forces 'continued their activity on the territory of the Kursk region and are holding their positions.'
The Associated Press was unable to immediately verify the claim by Russia.
Russian and North Korean soldiers have nearly deprived Kyiv of a key bargaining chip by retaking most of the region.
According to Russian state news agency Tass, Russia is still fighting to push Ukrainian forces out of the village of Gornal, some 7 miles (11 kilometers) 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, citing Russia security agencies.
In other developments, the Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired 87 exploding drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks overnight into Saturday. It said 33 of them were intercepted and another 36 were lost, likely having been electronically jammed.
Russian attacks damaged farms in the Odesa region and sparked fires in the Sumy region overnight, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said Saturday. Fires were contained, and no casualties were reported.
Russia's Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, said its air defense systems shot down two Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday.
As for Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines, there is no faith that the Kremlin leader will keep his word - or that any brief pause in the fighting will lead to a wider ceasefire.
Of course there's distrust,' said 40-year-old soldier, Dmitry, talking to AFP in the city of Kramatorsk, around 20 kilometres from the front in the eastern Donetsk region.
Even if Russia did hold off on attacks until Sunday night, it would only be for cynical reasons, he believed.
'I think this man (Putin) is evil, a murderer, but he can do it. He might do it to give some hope or to show his humanity. But either way, of course, we don't trust. These 30 hours will lead to nothing.
'The killings of our people, and theirs, will 100 percent continue,' he added.
Vitaly, 45, another soldier also on a break in Kramatorsk agreed.
'I think that there will be no ceasefire, the ones declaring this won't fulfil all those statements,' he told AFP from his car window.
'Perhaps they want to somehow reduce our vigilance,' he said.
Speaking about his fellow troops stationed in trenches on the front, he said: 'If there is an urgent need to open fire, they will open fire and destroy the enemy.'
If a pause in attacks really does materialise, it could offer Ukraine a chance to 'regroup', he said.
