Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday announced an “Easter truce’’ in Ukraine, according to reports.
Putin said there would be a temporary end to hostilities from 16:00 BST yesterday until 22:00 BST today (00:00 Moscow time).
The Russian leader said he assumed Ukraine would follow the truce but Russian troops were ready to repel any possible violations.
This came after US President Donald Trump threatened to “pass” on Ukraine peace talks if no progress is made on a deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X saying air raid alerts were spreading across the country.
Describing the situation as “yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives”, Zelensky said: “Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life.”
It was not clear yesterday if Zelensky was referring to Putin’s “Easter truce”.
He added that Ukrainian forces were holding positions in Russia’s Kursk region and Ukraine’s “zone of control” had expanded in the Russian Belgorod region.
