[UPDATED: April 19, 7:37 pm , Kyiv time. Updated with statements from President Zelensky, Foreign Minister Sybiha, and continued reports of Russian attacks despite ceasefire claims.]
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that his troops will observe a 30-hour ceasefire from the evening of April 19 to April 20, 2025.
The announcement was made on Saturday afternoon, April 19, by the Kremlin press service.
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Nevertheless, at 5.10 p.m., air raid sirens were sounding in Kyiv.
One of the monitoring Telegram channels reported: “Reconnaissance UAV operating in the Brovary/Velyka Dymerka [Kyiv region] sector. Be alert to missile threats.”
During a meeting in the Kremlin, Putin received a report from the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, on the “situation on the front line.”
“Guided by humanitarian considerations... the Russian side declares an Easter truce. I order a halt to all hostilities for this period,” Putin announced.
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He expressed hope that “the Ukrainian side will follow our example,” emphasizing that Russian forces must remain prepared to repel any potential ceasefire violations or “provocations by the enemy, any of its aggressive actions.”
Putin stated that hostilities would cease from 6:00 p.m. on April 19 until midnight on April 21.
He also suggested that Ukraine might violate the truce, claiming that Ukraine had breached the moratorium on strikes against Russian energy facilities “100 times.”
“The reaction to the Easter truce will show how sincere Kyiv’s ability and desire to participate in peace negotiations are,” Putin said.
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Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security Council, pointed out in his response that the “truce” will last only 30 hours.
“Why 30 hours and not an unconditional ceasefire, as we have been proposing since March 11?” he wrote.
Shortly after Putin announced a 30-hour “Easter truce,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded on Telegram, saying:
“Regarding Putin’s latest attempt to play with people’s lives, an air alert is now spreading across the territory of Ukraine. At 17:15, Russian strike drones were detected in our sky.”
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“The ‘Shaheds’ in our sky are Putin’s true attitude to Easter and people’s lives,” he added.
Zelensky also reported that Ukrainian forces remain active on the front:
“In Kursk Oblast, our military continues its activity and is holding positions. In Belgorod Oblast, our military has advanced and expanded our zone of control.”
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha echoed skepticism about Putin’s truce announcement:
“Unfortunately, we have significant experience when his statements did not coincide with his actions. We know that his words cannot be believed, and we will look at actions, not words.”
He added that Ukraine wants to see a full ceasefire across all fronts:
“We also call on all our partners and the entire international community to remain vigilant. Only actions demonstrate the truth, not words: this war began and continues only because of Russia.”
Despite Putin’s order for hostilities to cease from 6:00 p.m. on April 19, reports from the front suggest that Russian attacks are continuing.
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The Ukrainian military-themed Telegram channel “Gruz 200” reported that Russian artillery and FPV drones remain active.
“In Kostyantynivka, an FPV drone on a fiber optic cable just flew into a residential building. A residential building was also attacked in Kherson,” the channel wrote.
“The occupiers themselves write that they waited 5 minutes after 6:00 p.m. and continued to conduct hostilities.”
Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak also shared a video showing a drone strike on a residential building in Kherson, captioning it: “Russians are constantly hitting civilians in Kherson.”
This is a developing story, it might be updated.
