Zelensky says Ukraine will observe Easter truce

Kyiv (AFP)

Ukraine will abide by an Easter truce, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, hours after Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to pause all combat activity until 2100 GMT on Sunday.

"If Russia is now suddenly ready to truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly -- mirroring Russia's actions," Zelensky said Saturday in a post on X.

He proposed "extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20".

Putin made the surprise announcement of an Easter truce, set to last until midnight on Sunday (Moscow time), having last month rejected a US proposal for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.

Ukraine had accepted that offer.

US Donald Trump is pushing to end the three-year war, but on Friday threatened to ditch his efforts to broker a ceasefire if he did not see meaningful progress soon.

Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after the two sides failed to agree on them.