A temporary truce between Russia and Ukraine for Orthodox Easter will begin on Saturday afternoon as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war weaken.
The Kremlin said it had ordered a temporary ceasefire from 16:00 (1300 GMT) on Saturday until the end of Sunday, a 32-hour period.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and army chief Valery Gerasimov have been instructed to “cease hostilities in all directions during this period,” the Kremlin said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kiev had “repeatedly stated” it was ready for a ceasefire over Easter and was ready to respond.
The temporary truce came after US-led talks to end the four-year conflict have been disrupted by the war in the Middle East.
The two sides also held a ceasefire for Orthodox Easter last year.
Authorities in southern Ukraine’s Odessa said on Saturday that two people had been killed in Russian attacks and two others were wounded, just hours before a ceasefire was set to begin.
Two people were killed and about 15 others wounded overnight Friday in two separate attacks in Ukraine’s central Poltava region and Sumy, a region in the northeast, regional authorities said.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 128 drones against the country overnight on Thursday.
Slowing down of Russian military operations
Several rounds of US-led talks have failed to bring the warring parties closer to an agreement, and Washington’s attention is now focused on Iran.
Negotiations have stalled, with Moscow demanding territorial and political concessions that Zelenskyy has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that Russia had previously discussed a ceasefire with Ukraine or the United States and said it was not involved in negotiations to end the war.
The war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions from their homes, making it Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
Over the past few years, the fighting at the front has come to a near standstill. Russia has made small territorial gains at a high cost.
But Kiev recently managed to push back in the southeast and Russian advances have slowed since late 2025, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
In addition to Ukraine’s counterattacks, analysts attributed the slowdown to Russia being banned from using SpaceX’s Starlink satellites and Moscow’s own efforts to block the Telegram messaging app.
The situation is, however, unfavorable for Ukraine in the Donetsk region, towards the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, according to ISW.
Moscow occupies just over 19 percent of Ukraine, most of which was captured during the first weeks of the conflict.
