Zelenskyy says Ukraine will observe Easter truce, accuses Russia of breaches

• Ukraine will abide by an Easter truce, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after President Vladimir Putin’s order.
• Zelenskyy accused Russia of breaking promises, citing continued assaults and artillery fire.
• Ukraine’s Air Force issued warnings, reporting drone attacks and a ballistic missile threat.

Ukraine will abide by an Easter truce, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, hours after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to pause all combat activity until midnight, local time.

“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,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

The corresponding proposal for a full and unconditional 30 days ceasefire has gone unanswered by Russia for 39 days. The United States made this proposal, Ukraine responded positively, but Russia ignored it.

If Russia is now suddenly ready to truly engage in a format of full and…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 19, 2025

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

But the Ukrainian leader also accused Russia of having already broken its promises.

“Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided,” he said.

Vladimir Putin's surprise Easter truce in Ukraine would be the most significant pause in the fighting throughout the three-year conflict. Photo / Getty Images

Ukraine’s Kherson governor reported several Russian drone attacks after Putin’s order was supposed to have come into force at 6pm local time.

Ukraine’s Air Force issued air-raid warnings across several regions in eastern Ukraine, also while the ceasefire was supposed to be in effect.

Ukraine will abide by an Easter truce, Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, hours after Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to pause all combat activity until midnight, local time. Photo / Getty Images

The air force said on social media there was a “ballistic missile threat”, and official air-raid maps indicated alerts issued for the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

“Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow,” Zelenskyy said.

“We know all too well how Moscow manipulates, and we are prepared for anything. Ukraine’s Defence Forces will act rationally – responding in kind. Every Russian strike will be met with an appropriate response,” he added.

Russia and Ukraine this week conducted a prisoner-of-war exchange, each returning 246 soldiers. Photo / AFP

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

Ukraine had accepted that offer.

US President 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.