Russian President Vladimir Putin declared an “Easter truce” in the war in Ukraine on Saturday, saying that the Russian side will cease military action from 6 p.m. local Saturday night until midnight April 21.
Putin said he assumes that “the Ukrainian side will follow our example,” according to a statement on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel. But he also says Russia will respond to “violations of the truce and provocations” by Ukraine, the statement said.
In a statement Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not say whether or not Ukraine would agree to the truce, but called the proposal “yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives” and pointing out that there were still Russian attacks being launched in the hour before the Russian ceasefire was meant to take effect.
The proposed truce comes as U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, continued holding talks in Paris this week to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Rubio said the talks were “productive” but asserted that the U.S. was willing to move on from the negotiations if they didn’t yield results.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to Alexander Troufanov, Yelena Troufanova and Sapir Cohen, who were released from Hamas captivity, during their meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, April 16, 2025.
Sofia Sandurskaya/Sputnik via AP
“We need to figure out here, now within a matter of days, whether this is doable in the short term, because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on,” Rubio said on the tarmac as he left France early Friday morning.
Later, at the White House, President Donald Trump echoed Rubio’s assertion — saying that the U.S. would make a determination “very shortly.”
In the wake of Rubio’s public comments, Moscow signaled it was in no hurry to strike a deal.
These developments also come as one potential indicator of progress — a 30-day ceasefire intended to pause strikes on energy infrastructure targets—has expired, with no word from Putin on whether Moscow will restart attacks on those targets.
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of repeatedly violating the agreement, which was brokered by the Trump administration last month.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
ABC News’ Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.
