Ukraine, truce for Orthodox Easter has begun

Easter truce agreed between Russia e Ukraine it came into force at 4pm local time (3pm in Italy) and, in principle, should expire at midnight on Sunday, the day on which both countries will celebrate the Orthodox Easter. This is the fourth cease-fire since the start of the war in February 2022 between Russia and Ukraine, whose peace negotiations mediated by United States have been at a standstill for almost two months due to the conflict in the Gulf.

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky he had repeatedly hoped for a truce in this period in recent weeks, but Mosca ignored Kiev’s initiative until two days ago, when Vladimir Putin announced a ceasefire from 4pm on April 11 until the end of April 12″. The statement underlined that the Russian military command had received instructions to cease hostility on all fronts for 32 ore. However the Kremlin he specified that the troops will remain “ready to counter any possible provocation or aggressive action by the enemy”. Shortly after, Zelensky said Kiev would respond to Moscow “symmetrically.”

Kiev’s response and the prospects for peace

“We all know who we’re dealing with.Ukraine it will respect the ceasefire and respond in exactly the same way. The absence of Russian attacks by land, sea and air will mean that there will be no response from us,” he wrote on his social media profiles. Zelensky added that Ukraine is ready to extend the truce for more than two days, arguing that “a ceasefire for Easter could represent the beginning of a real path to peace“.

The position of the Kremlin and the humanitarian character

“As we have repeatedly said, and as President Putin has stated, we don’t want a ceasefire, we want the pace: a lasting and sustainable peace”, commented the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov in his last daily telephone press conference. But regarding a possible extension of the ceasefire, the Kremlin said that the announcement applies exclusively to Orthodox Easter and has “a humanitarian character“, as a religious holiday for both Russians and Ukrainians.

The military constraints of the truce

The truce must not allow “the Ukrainian side to take advantage of it in any way to achieve a military advantagereorganize or take actions that may alter its military position“he declared Rodion Miroshnikrepresentative of Russian Foreign Ministry for Ukraine.

Exchange of prisoners

Russia received 175 Russian soldiers from the territory controlled by Kiev and, in exchange, released 175 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Russian Defense Ministry also reported that seven residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained in Ukraine, were also returned.

“On April 11, 175 Russian servicemen were repatriated from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime. In exchange, 175 prisoners of war from the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred. Seven Russian citizens, residents of the Kursk region, who had been illegally detained by the Kiev regime, were also repatriated,” the Ministry of Defense reported according to which the United Arab Emirates acted as intermediaries in the repatriation of Russian military personnel from Ukraine. “The UAE provided humanitarian assistance and mediation during the repatriation of Russian servicemen from captivity,” the military department reported.