A ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine for the Orthodox Easter took effect at 4:00 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday, April 11,to extend throughout Sunday, following a Thursday announcement by President Vladimir Putin. Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine would observe the truce and called for it to be extended past Easter. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the ceasefire is a humanitarian gesture, not a substitute for lasting peace, adding: “This peace could come today, if Zelenskyy takes responsibility and makes the appropriate decision”—meaning withdrawal from Donbass.
Hours before the ceasefire began, the two sides carried out a large-scale prisoner exchange. The swap brought home 182 Ukrainians—175 military personnel and seven civilians, in the 72nd such exchange since 2022. The exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates. A major highlight was the return of 25 officers, a group Russia had previously refused to include in negotiations. The exchange follows a two-day swap of 500 POWs per side in March mediated by the U.S. and U.A.E., and a separate repatriation on April 9 of the remains of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers in exchange for 41 Russian bodies—a ratio that has held roughly constant for months. POW swaps remain one of the few areas of continuing cooperation between Kiev and Moscow.
