Zelensky says Ukraine will observe 'Easter truce'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his forces would observe a surprise Easter truce announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin that is set to last until midnight tomorrow, even as air-raid sirens sounded in Kyiv.

The truce would be the most significant pause in the fighting throughout the three-year conflict.

However, just hours after the order was meant to have come into effect, air-raid sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital and Mr Zelensky accused Russia of having maintained its artillery fire and assaults on the frontline.

Russia and Ukraine also held a large exchange of prisoners, each side saying they had handed back more than 240 captured fighters.

The order to halt all combat over the Easter weekend came after months of efforts by US President Donald Trump to get Russia and Ukraine to agree a truce.

Yesterday, the US even threatened to withdraw from talks if no progress was made.

"Today from 6pm (3pm Irish time) to midnight Sunday (9pm tomorrow), the Russian side announces an Easter truce," Mr Putin said earlier in televised comments during a meeting with the Russian chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov.

Mr Zelensky responded by saying Ukraine would follow suit, and proposed extending the truce beyond tomorrow.

However, the Ukrainian leader also accused Russia of having already broken its promises.

Air-raid sirens sounded in Kyiv and several other regions this evening.

"Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided," Mr Zelensky said.

Mr Putin had said the truce for the Easter holiday celebrated tomorrow was motivated by "humanitarian reasons".

He said he expected Ukraine to comply but Russian troops "must be ready to resist possible breaches of the truce and provocations by the enemy".

Mr Zelensky in a social media post wrote: "If Russia is now suddenly ready to truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly --mirroring Russia's actions."

He pointed out that Mr Putin earlier rejected a proposed 30-day full and unconditional ceasefire and urged Russia to extend the ceasefire.

"If a complete ceasefire truly takes hold, Ukraine proposes extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20," Mr Zelensky said, adding that "30 days could give peace a chance".

Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Ukraine's southern Kherson region, said this evening there had been several Russian drone attacks since Moscow had announced the truce.

"Unfortunately, we do not observe any lull" in the fighting, he said.

Soldiers in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk close to the front line, were greeted the announcement with scepticism.

Mr Putin "might do it to give some hope or to show his humanity. But either way, of course, we don't trust (Russia)," said Dmitry, a 40-year-old soldier.

His truce announcement came a day after Russia abandoned a moratorium on striking Ukrainian energy targets, which in any case each side had accused the other of having failed to respect.

Mr Putin said the latest truce proposal would show "how sincere is the Kyiv's regime's readiness, its desire and ability to observe agreements and participate in a process of peace talks".

Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after both sides failed to agree on them.

Ukraine last month agreed to Trump's proposal for a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, only for President Putin to reject it.

"There is no trust in words coming from Moscow," Mr Zelensky said. "We know all too well how Moscow manipulates, and we are prepared for anything. Ukraine's Defense Forces will act rationally -- responding in kind.

"Every Russian strike will be met with an appropriate response," he added.

In Kramatorsk, one soldier, Vladislav, 22, recalled a ceasefire agreement soon after the start of armed hostilities in 2014, the year Russia seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.

That truce had collapsed days afterwards, he said.

"I feel like it's going to start again after a while, and it's going to go on and on," he said of the conflict.

Earlier, Ukraine and Russia said they had each returned 246 soldiers being held as prisoners of war in a swap mediated by the UAE.

President Zelensky said the total of returned POWs now stood at 4,552.

Russia also said it had retaken the penultimate village still under Ukrainian control in its Kursk frontier region.

Ukraine had hoped to use its hold on the region as a bargaining chip in the talks.