TRANSCRIPT
More than three years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Easter weekend has briefly brought a glimmer of hope for Ukrainians and Russians alike who have been devastated by the conflict.
In a surprise announcement, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a 30-hour temporary truce.
Russian then translated "Guided by humanitarian considerations, from 6pm Saturday until midnight on Sunday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce. I order that all military actions be stopped for this period. We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions."
After claiming his Russian forces were advancing across the entire front, Mr Putin says the ceasefire was introduced on humanitarian grounds.
But hours after the ceasefire was announced, all too familiar sounds were heard in Kyiv with air raid sirens sounding out across the Ukrainian capital.
News agency A-F-P says its journalists were told to proceed to shelters by sirens shortly before 10pm local time due to a reported missile threat in the region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has slammed Mr Putin as someone not to be trusted, saying his top commander confirmed this morning that Russian artillery fire had not subsided and assaults along the frontlines had not halted.
Kyiv resident Natalia Yurchynko says she doesn't trust Mr Putin to keep to his word.
UKRAINIAN TRANSLATED TO ENG: "I personally do not believe this because it is not the first time and rules were broken before. That is why I think it will not be the way he promised, there will be violations."
The timing of President Putin's ceasefire announcement is notable not only due to the Easter holiday but also due to an announcement from United States President Donald Trump yesterday.
Mr Trump says his administration may abandon their attempts to end the war in Ukraine within days if the sides continue to show resistance to peace negotiations.
"If for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say, ‘You are foolish. You are fools. You're horrible people.’ And we're going to just take a pass. But hopefully, we won't have to do that."
Maria Snegovaya of the U-S based Centre for Strategic and International Studies says she believes Mr Putin's announcement was an attempt to appeal to Mr Trump as a peacemaker.
"It's one of the efforts to sort of give Trump something, even if it's very partial, because the original request from Trump was for 30 days. The result is unilateral, ceasefire without negotiating with Ukraine, only for several days on Easter. But this same way Putin kind of keeps the talks going, so to speak. So, giving a little bit without giving too much."
Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says he is hoping to abide by the Easter ceasefire if Russia can stop their attacks and calls on Russia to implement the 30-day truce that Ukraine agreed to last month.
Ms Snegovaya says this is a smart move for negotiations.
“Smart move on the Ukrainian side, I would say, it's counteroffer, so that Putin does not look here like the main peacemaker. And an effort to also kind of take the initiative from the Russian side, at the same time extended the ceasefire. I think both sides at this point are concerned as to how they look in the eyes of the U-S Administration, right, who is more reconciliatory, who are pushing for more peace."
And while the two countries seem to remain no closer to peace, the war's largest prisoner exchange has taken place, bringing hundreds of captured Russian and Ukrainian soldiers home in time for the Easter celebrations.
Ukraine says 277 of their soldiers have been returned from Russian captivity, with most of the prisoners young people born after 2000.
48-year-old mother Nataliia Lohvynchuk, who rushed toward the bus of prisoners the moment it arrived, hadn’t seen her son in three years after he was captured during the battle for Mariupol in the spring of 2022.
Her son, 23-year-old Ihor Lohvynchuk, has lost about 40 kilograms in captivity.
He says he cannot believe that he is home.
"I still can't believe it, we're not here yet. We've all arrived, but we're not here yet. Unfortunately, we don't understand it yet. Three years, 1,102 days of captivity - that's not five days."
And Russia’s Ministry of Defence says 246 service members were returned from territory controlled by Ukraine.
One of the men says he's looking forward to seeing his mother.
"Today we were exchanged, and then a couple days ago when they told me the lists, I didn't believe it, and probably still didn't believe it until I called home to say a few nice words. I haven't heard my mother's voice in half a year."
And in London, hundreds of Ukrainians queued for holy Easter service at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski says many families are trying to find some festive joy this Easter despite their concern for loved ones back home.
"Well, I think the mood today at the cathedral is one of very upbeat, of course, caution because everybody is thinking and praying about their loved ones, their brothers and sisters in Ukraine who are having to face this Easter season under the threat of a war that continues. But I think those people that are coming to the cathedral today are feeling very festive and joyful."
