by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
KYIV/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed extending the Orthodox Easter ceasefire with Russia, which also saw the exchange of hundreds of prisoners of war.
“Easter should be a time of security and peace. It would be right for a ceasefire to continue beyond the holiday,” he said in comments monitored by Worthy News on Sunday, when millions celebrate Orthodox Easter, including in Ukraine and Russia.
“We have conveyed this proposal to Russia, and if Russia once more chooses war over peace, it will yet again show the world, and the United States in particular, who truly stands for what. Ukraine will act symmetrically,” Zelenskyy added.
There was no immediate response from Moscow.
EASTER TRUCE EXTENSION CALL
The latest ceasefire, announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was similar to a roughly 30-hour truce he ordered last year.
The Kremlin said the Easter ceasefire would be in effect from Saturday at 4 p.m. local time until midnight Sunday. “We proceed on the basis that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation,” the announcement added.
While at least some violations of the truce were expected, the ceasefire enabled Ukraine and Russia to exchange hundreds of prisoners of war over the weekend in time for Orthodox Easter, officials from both countries said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine brought home 175 servicemen and seven civilians from Russian captivity. He added that the servicemen had “defended the country” on fronts ranging from the east to the south, and that most had been held since 2022.
PRISONER SWAP DURING TRUCE
At least one Ukrainian prisoner broke down in tears following the exchange, according to footage seen by Worthy News, amid reports of widespread abuses.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the United Arab Emirates mediated the exchange. Russia also received 175 servicemen and seven civilians originally from the Kursk region, officials confirmed.
The exchanges came as Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, was in the United States meeting with members of U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s administration to discussa possible peace deal and U.S.-Russia economic cooperation, sources familiar with the visit said.
It remained unclear whether progress would be made during Orthodox Easter, often seen as a time of reflection.
UNCERTAIN PEACE PROSPECTS
According to the Orthodox calendar, Easter falls on April 12 this year.
Zelenskyy had already called for a ceasefire earlier this month, when most churches celebrated Easter, citing continued air attacks on Ukrainian cities. He said at the time there was no peace for Ukrainians, as Moscow responded instead with drone strikes.
Russia says it is pursuing “a long-term settlement” in a war that has caused massive casualties on both sides. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan nonprofit policy research organization, said in January that total casualties were estimated at 1.8 million and could approach two million by spring.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A municipal beach worker searching Israel’s Mediterranean coastline for items lost by swimmers discovered something far older than expected: an exceptionally rare 2,500-year-old coin minted in ancient Cyprus.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said federal investigators spent approximately eight months locating Dr. Anthony Fauci’s private journals, which Kennedy claimed had been scattered across 11 separate government servers.
Skywatchers are preparing for one of the most remarkable astronomical nights of the decade as a total solar eclipse, the peak of the Perseid meteor shower and a broad gathering of six planets converge around August 12.
The United States has condemned the “horrific killing” of nine relatives of Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo, a Nigerian pastor whose earlier appeal warned that “fear has become a way of life” in Nigeria’s violence-plagued Plateau State.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marked the 73rd anniversary of the Korean War armistice by paying tribute at war memorials and cemeteries, accompanied for the first time by his daughter, Ju Ae, in a move that analysts say further underscores her increasingly prominent public role.
President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran is seeking negotiations after two weeks of sustained American airstrikes, portraying Tehran’s diplomatic outreach as evidence that the U.S. military campaign has forced the Islamic regime back to the bargaining table.
President Donald Trump and three Republican senators are pressing Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep the chamber in session through August until lawmakers pass the SAVE America Act, escalating a growing dispute over one of the president’s top election-integrity priorities.