The 30-hour truce would be the most significant pause in the fighting throughout the three-year conflict.
Also on Saturday, Russia and Ukraine held a large exchange of prisoners, each side saying they had handed back more than 240 captured fighters.
“Today from 1800 (1500 GMT Saturday) to midnight Sunday (2100 GMT Sunday), the Russian side announces an Easter truce,“ Putin said in televised comments during a meeting with the Russian chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov.
- ‘Give peace a chance’ -
“Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided,“ Zelensky said.
While he expected Ukraine to comply, he said that Russian troops “must be ready to resist possible breaches of the truce and provocations by the enemy”.
He added: “If a complete ceasefire truly takes hold, Ukraine proposes extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20.”
- ‘Attacks continue’ -
“In some areas on the frontline, Russian artillery continues to be heard, despite the promise of silence from the Russian leader. Russian drones are being used. It is quieter in some areas.”
Putin “might do it to give some hope or to show his humanity,“ said Dmitry, a 40-year-old soldier. “But either way, of course, we don’t trust (Russia).”
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.
- Captives swapped -
“Over the years of this full-scale war, Russian attacks have destroyed or damaged more than 600 churches, prayer houses and places of worship.”
On the streets of Moscow, Yevgeny Pavlov, 58, said he did not think Russia should give Ukraine a breather.
Earlier Saturday, Ukraine and Russia said they had each returned 246 soldiers being held as prisoners of war in a swap mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE’s foreign ministry said 31 wounded Ukrainians and 15 wounded Russians were also exchanged.
Russia said it had retaken the penultimate village still under Ukrainian control in its Kursk frontier region.
Kyiv had hoped to use its hold on the region as a bargaining chip in the talks.
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