Short Orthodox Easter ceasefire due to start in Ukraine

A 32-hour truce is set to take effect in the war in Ukraine on Saturday at 4 pm (1300 GMT) to mark Orthodox Easter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said it would run until the end of Sunday.

Ukraine had previously proposed an Easter truce on several occasions. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev would respond in kind following the Kremlin's announcement.

Orthodox Christians in both Ukraine and Russia celebrate Easter on Sunday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the ceasefire was humanitarian in nature, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X that Kiev would assess how and when the truce was implemented and was prepared to act accordingly.

"We will see where and when the silence starts working and we are ready to reciprocate on our side," he wrote.

"Our position is that there is no need to resume strikes at all. A lasting ceasefire would pave the way for genuine diplomacy to end this war that Russia will never win and must finally stop."

Kiev views a ceasefire as a step toward ending the war, while Moscow says key issues in the conflict must be resolved first.

In the more than four-year-old war, several temporary ceasefires have been declared around public holidays, with both sides later accusing each other of violations.