Smart guy he want to show the West he is not the Devil.


Russia's Putin declares temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine
Updated on: April 19, 2025 / 7:17 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary "Easter truce" in the three-year conflict in Ukraine that will last until midnight Sunday.

"On humanitarian grounds, today from 6 p.m. to midnight from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side announces an Easter truce," Putin said in a televised statement released by the Kremlin. The statement has been translated. "For this period, I order to stop all fighting. We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops should be prepared to reflect possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions."

Putin first announced the ceasefire in a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Velary Gerasimov, the Kremlin Press Service said.

Russia's Defense Ministry said in a translated statement that the ceasefire is imposed "for humanitarian purposes and will be observed by the Russian Unified Group of Troops (forces) provided that it is mutually respected by the Kiev regime."

The announcement came the day after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Trump's administration was ready to "move on" from peace talks between Russia and Ukraine if progress was not made in the coming days. Rubio made the comments in Paris, after landmark talks among U.S., Ukrainian and European officials.

"We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not," Rubio told reporters while departing Paris. "Because if it's not, then I think we're just going to move on."

"It's not our war," Rubio added. "We have other priorities to focus on." He said the U.S. administration wants to decide "in a matter of days." Another meeting is expected next week in London.