Putin declares 'Easter truce' amid largest prisoner swap in Russia-Ukraine war

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday declared an "Easter truce" in Russia's war on Ukraine as hundreds of captured soldiers were swapped between the countries in the largest exchange since Moscow's full-scale invasion over three years ago.

The ceasefire will last from 6 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday to midnight following Easter Sunday, according to the Kremlin.

“Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 [Moscow time] to 00:00 [Moscow time] from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce,” Putin said during a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. " 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,” Putin added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Putin of "another attempt to play with human lives."

"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. "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."

Zelenskyy said 277 "warriors" were returned home from Russian captivity, while Russia's Ministry of Defense said 246 service members were returned by Kyiv "as a gesture of goodwill." Thirty-one wounded Ukrainian POWS were transferred in exchange for 15 wounded Russian soldiers in need of urgent medical care.

I thank everyone who made this return of our people possible. I am especially grateful to the United Arab Emirates for their mediation," Zelenskyy said. "In total, since the beginning of the full-scale war, 4,552 people—both warriors and civilians—have been successfully brought back home from Russian imprisonment. We remember all those who remain in captivity. We are searching for everyone who could be there. We must bring them all home.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the U.S. may “move on” from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting.

“We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,” Rubio told reporters upon departure. “Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on.”

“It’s not our war,” Rubio said. “We have other priorities to focus on.” He said the U.S. administration wants to decide “in a matter of days.”

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.