Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a very brief, Easter ceasefire in the Russo-Ukraine war, according to an announcement on Saturday. The ceasefire is supposed to last from 6 p.m. (presumably Moscow time) Saturday until midnight Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in his country’s war with Ukraine, the Kremlin said Saturday.

The war has raged for more than three years and cost the lives of tens of thousands of people on both sides. 

"Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 to 00:00 from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce,’" Putin said in a video posted by the Russian ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is skeptical and released a statement on Saturday in reply to the Russian announcement.

The move appeared to be scoffed at by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who said shortly after the announcement that air raid alerts were ringing out across Ukraine.

"As for yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives—at this moment, air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine," Zelenskyy wrote on X while giving an update on troop positions. It wasn’t entirely clear of (sic) he was addressing the truce.

"At 17:15, Russian attack drones were detected in our skies. Ukrainian air defense and aviation have already begun working to protect us. Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life."

As of this writing, it's not known if the Russian drones were withdrawn or if any other Russian action has been undertaken.

Here's what's interesting about the timing of this:

The temporary ceasefire comes after President Donald Trump on Thursday said an 80-page minerals deal will be signed with Ukraine in one week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later amended that it would likely be signed on April 26.

This agreement, if it's signed as expected, would put in place an economic agreement between the United States and Ukraine that may well affect how Russia looks at this whole affair, but probably not until and if any actual American assets are in place in Ukraine.

In fact, the very real risk is that Tsar Vladimir I would seek to bring the whole thing to a military conclusion before that could happen.

See Also: Essex Files: Russia-U.S. Talks Continue Despite Other Countries' Objections

'Very Angry' Trump Goes Off on Putin Over Ukraine in NBC Interview—in No Uncertain (Salty) Terms

Holiday truces, of course, have a long history. In the famous Christmas truce of 1914, in that first year of the Great War, the whole thing almost came unraveled after German and British troops climbed out of the trenches, fraternized freely with each other, and actually shared food, drink, and in at least one case, organized an informal football match in no-man's land. There are reports that the truce, on the part of the common soldiers, ended only reluctantly, almost as though they had recognized one another's humanity. 

It could well have been a case of "what if they held a war and nobody came?"

The Great War Christmas truce, however, was only four months into that conflict. It's unlikely, after years of fighting and the hate it engenders, that there will be any repeat of this in the proposed Easter truce - even if Tsar Vladimir I keeps his word.

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