Russia Declares Unilateral Easter Ceasefire in Ukraine

[Vladimir] Putin has now made statements about his alleged readiness for a ceasefire. We know his words cannot be trusted and we will look at actions, not words. ANDRIY SYBІHA, Ukrainian foreign minister

- Agencies

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral 30-hour Easter ceasefire in Ukraine on Saturday, after Washington said it could abandon peace talks within days unless Moscow and Kyiv show they are ready to stop the war. Putin ordered fighting to stop as of 6pm Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday until midnight on Sunday (2100 GMT).

"Based on humanitarian considerations... the Russian side announces an Easter truce. I order a stop to all military activities for this period," Putin told Valery Gerasimov, Chief of Russia's General Staff, at a meeting televised on Saturday.

"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.