(AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a high temporary Easter fire in Ukraine, said Kremlin on Saturday.
According to the Kremlin, El Alto El Fuego will last from 6 PM, Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday at midnight (2100 GMT) after Easter Sunday.
“Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 6:00 p.m. to 00:00 from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares a Easter truce. I order that all military actions be arrested for this period,” Putin said in a meeting with the head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the Kremlin press service quoted him as he said.
“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our examples. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible rapes of the truce and the provocations of the enemy, any of its aggressive actions,” Putin said.
The announcement occurred on the same day that the Russian Ministry of Defense said their forces pushed the Ukrainian forces of one of their last support points in the Kursk region of Russia. The control of the Russian forces of the village of Olhnya, on the border with Ukraine, said the ministry.
Associated Press could not immediately verify the claim and there was no immediate response from Ukrainian officials.
According to the Russian state news agency Tass, Russia is still struggling to expel the Ukrainian forces of the Gornal village, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) south of Olheshnya.
“The Russian army has not yet expelled the Ukrainian armed forces of Gornal … to complete to free the Kursk region. Fierce fighting are underway in the agreement,” said the agency, citing Russia’s security agencies.
Russian and North Korean soldiers have almost deprived kyiv or a key negotiation chip when most of the region resume, where Ukrainian troops organized a surprise raid last year.
In other developments, the Ukraine Air Force reported that Russia triggered 87 drones and explosive lures in the last wave of attacks during the night until Saturday. He said that 33 of them were intercepted and another 36 were lost, probably having been electronically stuck.
Russian attacks damaged the farms in the Odessa region and caused fires in the Sumy region during the night, the Ukraine state emergency service said on Saturday. Fires were contained and victims were not reported.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its air defense systems knocked down two Ukrainian drones during the night until Saturday.