فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Moscow: President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian troops to observe an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, starting from Saturday at 15:00 GMT and continuing until the night of Sunday to Monday, calling on Kyiv to do the same.
“Guided by humanitarian considerations, the Russian side is declaring an Easter truce today, from 18:00 (15:00 GMT) to midnight between Sunday and Monday (21:00 GMT Sunday). I order a cessation of all hostilities during this period,” Putin stated during a meeting broadcast on Russian television.
“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example,” he added.
According to the Russian head of state, the Ukrainian response “will show the sincerity of the Kyiv regime, its willingness and ability to respect agreements, to participate in the peace talks process aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis.”
However, Vladimir Putin called on his soldiers to “repel any possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy and any aggressive actions on their part.”
He told the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army, Valery Gerasimov: “I ask you to be extremely vigilant and focused, to be prepared for an immediate and comprehensive response.”
Attempts to establish an Easter truce in Ukraine have already occurred twice since the start of the conflict in February 2022.
In April 2022, a first initiative in this regard, taken by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, did not materialize due to Russia’s refusal, which argued that a ceasefire would give the Ukrainian army the opportunity to regroup and rearm.
The following year, in January 2023, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church urged both sides to cease hostilities for Easter, and Russia declared a 36-hour truce, but this was denounced as a “trap” by Ukraine, and fighting continued.
