President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia ordered his forces to “stop all military activity” against Ukraine from Saturday evening through Sunday, declaring an “Easter truce” that appeared aimed at showing an impatient Trump administration that Moscow was still open to peace talks.
“We will assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example,” Mr. Putin said in a meeting televised on Saturday with his top military commander, Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov.
Mr. Putin claimed that Kyiv’s response would shed light on Ukraine’s “desire, and, indeed, its ability” to take part in negotiations to end the war.
In a post on social media an hour after Mr. Putin’s announcement, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine referred to the offer of a truce as Mr. Putin’s “next attempt to play with people’s lives.”
Mr. Zelensky did not specify whether Ukraine would observe a truce. While other Ukrainian officials criticized the offer, they also didn’t flatly reject it.
Shortly after the Kremlin released Mr. Putin’s comments, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Russian forces would observe the Easter cease-fire “provided that it is mutually observed by the Kyiv regime.”
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