Vladimir Putin said “humanitarian considerations” were behind his decision to announce a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine on Saturday, 19 April.
The Russian president said he assumes the Ukrainian side will follow its example and stop hostilities and Russia’s armed forces would be ready to “repel possible ceasefire violations and provocations.”
“Based on humanitarian considerations, today starting from 6pm (3pm GMT) to 12am Monday the Russian side announces an Easter ceasefire,” Putin told his military chief, Valery Gerasimov, at a meeting in the Kremlin.
A Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson said instructions on the ceasefire were given to group commanders in the area of the "special military operation," the Kremlin's term for the war.
