OAN Staff Abril Elfi
8:58 AM – Saturday, April 19, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared an “Easter truce” in the ongoing war against Ukraine, stating that Moscow would pause “all military operations” until Monday
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On Saturday, Putin announced that the ceasefire was set to begin at 6:00 p.m. and continue until midnight on Monday — marking the first declared suspension of Russian aggression since the invasion began over three years ago.
“Based on humanitarian considerations … the Russian side announces an Easter truce. I order a stop to all military activities for this period,” Putin told his military chief, Valery Gerasimov, at a meeting in the Kremlin.
“We assume that Ukraine will follow our example. At the same time, our troops should be prepared to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions,” Putin added.
However, less than 15 minutes to go before the truce was supposed to start, air raid sirens continued to sound across eastern and central Ukraine as Russian forces pressed on with missile and drone attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the truce as “another of Putin’s games with human lives.”
“Air raid alerts are active across the country at this very moment,” Zelensky posted on X shortly before the ceasefire was scheduled to take effect. “At 17:15, Russian drones entered our airspace. Ukrainian air defenses and aviation are already responding to defend our people.”
“Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life,” he added.
Kyiv has not directly said whether it would also hold up the truce if Russia does.
Nonetheless, Ukraine previously agreed to a cease-fire offered by the Trump administration over a month ago, if Moscow also signed on.
Russia and Ukraine also carried out a large-scale prisoner swap on Saturday, with both sides exchanging more than 240 prisoners of war, according to the Russian defense ministry.
“On April 19 … 246 Russian servicemen were returned from areas under the control of the Kyiv regime,” the ministry announced on social media. “As a gesture of goodwill, 31 wounded Ukrainian POWs were also released in exchange for 15 injured Russian soldiers in need of urgent medical care.”
Zelensky confirmed that 277 Ukrainian service members had been brought back from Russian captivity.
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