The Kremlin has said Vladimir Putin has not taken any decision on an Easter truce with Ukraine, despite renewed public discussion of a temporary pause in fighting ahead of Orthodox Easter on 12 April.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Vladimir Putin had not made any decision on a possible Easter truce with Ukraine, leaving open the question of whether Russia would propose even a short-lived pause in hostilities ahead of Orthodox Easter on 12 April. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Interfax, said: “As of today, the supreme commander-in-chief has made no such decisions.”
The statement comes as the idea of a symbolic holiday ceasefire has again entered public discussion, though there is no sign of any broader breakthrough in efforts to halt the war. Recent reporting by Reuters noted that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said he remained committed to a ceasefire proposal passed to Moscow through the United States, including during the Easter period, while accusing Russia of continuing attacks rather than responding positively to the initiative.
The Kremlin’s position also revives scrutiny of Russia’s previous use of short ceasefire announcements. In 2025, Moscow declared a three-day Easter truce, presented as a suspension of hostilities from the evening of 19 April until midnight on 21 April. Yet that announcement was quickly overshadowed by continuing military activity, including drone attacks on Ukrainian territory reported the same day. The gap between ceasefire declarations and battlefield events has contributed to deep scepticism in Kyiv and among Ukraine’s partners over the practical value of narrowly defined Russian truce proposals.
