theguardian.com
Ukraine war briefing: First official ceasefire agreed after Zelenskyy push succeeds
Vladimir Putin paints Easter pause in fighting as Russia’s idea, but Ukraine’s president made repeated offers. What we know on day 1,507
Ukraine and Russia appeared to be on the brink of what could be their first official theatre-wide ceasefire since the February 2022 full-scale invasion after Vladimir Putin acquiesced to concerted offers by Volodymyr Zelenskyy of a pause in hostilities to mark Orthodox Easter, which is observed this weekend. The 32-hour ceasefire would start on Saturday afternoon.
Zelenskyy responded early on Friday: “Ukraine has repeatedly stated that we are ready for reciprocal steps. We proposed a ceasefire during the Easter holiday this year and will act accordingly … People need an Easter without threats and a real move towards peace, and Russia has a chance not to return to attacks even after Easter.”
The Kremlin attempted to portray the initiative as its own: “We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation,” said a statement. “Orders have been issued for this period to cease hostilities in all directions.” Russia left itself an opening, though, for continuing armed action: “Troops are to be prepared to counter any possible provocations by the enemy, as well as any aggressive actions,” said the Kremlin statement.
Previously in the full-scale war there have only been unofficial, ill-defined and patchily observed truces; or localised halts to allow for surrenders, the exchange of prisoners, handing over the dead or letting civilians flee the frontline. There was a limited “energy truce” declared in March 2025 that was supposed to halt strikes on oil, gas and electrical facilities as well as sea targets. Moscow – while rejecting numerous previous ceasefire initiatives that were accepted by Ukraine – has also tried to unilaterally declare ceasefires, for example to allow Russia to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Soviet victory in the second world war.
Considering the Trump administration’s repeated and lengthy courting of Putin to no avail over the past year, the Easter truce appeared to come about with minimal US involvement as the US president and his officials remained preoccupied with the Iran war and their own tenuous ceasefire. Zelenskyy did say in recent days that he had transmitted his truce offers to Russia via the US. Reuters said that according to its sources, Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev was in the US as of Thursday. Putin may be looking for a reprieve as successful strikes by the Ukrainians have dealt a heavy blow to Russia’s oil export industry, which earns revenue for the war; while Ukraine itself has been struggling with the impact of Russian strikes on its civilian energy grid.
Russia’s federal security service (FSB) said on Thursday that a former freelancer for Radio Free Europe had been detained in the city of Chita for treason, the Russian Tass news agency reported. The FSB said the man, whose name was not disclosed, was accused of committing treason by cooperating with Ukraine. In Moscow the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta said masked security service agents searched its offices on Thursday and barred its lawyers from entering. State news agency RIA quoted law enforcement officials as saying the search was linked to an investigation into the illegal use of personal data.
Britain and allies including Norway sent warships to prevent any attacks on undersea cables and pipelines as Russian submarines prowled around them earlier this year, according to the UK defence minister, John Healey. Britain accused Russia of conducting a covert operation in the High North maritime region, home to key shipping routes and critical infrastructure such as undersea cables.
“To President Putin, I say we see you. We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences,” Healey said. Russia’s embassy in London said Healey’s statement was “impossible to either believe or verify … Russia does not threaten undersea infrastructure, which is of critical importance to the UK. Nor do we employ aggressive rhetoric in this regard.” Continue reading...
