"Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 [Moscow time] to 00:00 [Moscow time] from Sunday to Monday the Russian side declares an Easter ceasefire. I am ordering a halt to all combat actions for this period." Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. The Easter truce will last 30 hours.
"I order a halt to all hostilities for this period. We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example." Putin said.
Putin stressed that Russian troops must be prepared for a possible ceasefire violation by Kiev. They must be ready to repel any provocations of the enemy, any aggressive actions. Kiev has violated the moratorium on energy strikes, which was announced for 30 days from March 18, more than 100 times. "I therefore ask you to be extremely attentive and to be ready to respond immediately in full," the head of state pointed out.
Moscow hopes that Kiev will follow suit and also cease fire. Ukraine's response will show how sincerely it is willing and able to participate in peace talks, Putin added.
The President also said that the situation on the line of contact was developing favourably for the Russian Federation: "Russian troops confidently advance step by step".
All group commanders in the zone of special military operations have been instructed to cease fire and combat operations from 18:00 Moscow time on 19 April to 00:00 Moscow time on 21 April.
"The ceasefire regime is imposed for humanitarian reasons and will be respected by the Russian joint troop (force) group on condition of mutual compliance by the Kiev regime."
Putin's announcement comes shortly after US officials described the response to the US peace proposal as "positive", but at the same time US President Donald Trump threatened to walk away from the peace talks.
TASS/gnews.cz
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