The Russian government has agreed to carry a ceasefire at some stage in Easter, which within the Orthodox calendar falls one week after the date celebrated in western Europe.
The Russian Orthodox Church uses the Julian Calendar, meaning that many Christian festivals are celebrated at different times to those churches which use the more common Gregorian calendar.
The ceasefire will last from 4pm local time on Saturday 11 April and last until Easter Sunday finishes. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that troops had been ordered to stop fire “in all directions”, although he warned that they were able to cope with any “provocations” or “aggressive actions”.
Putin’s Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, has indicated that Ukraine will honour the ceasefire. Writing online, Zelensky said Ukraine was “ready for symmetrical steps”.
“People need an Easter free from threats and real movement toward peace,” Zelensky said, adding that he can be blissful for the ceasefire to proceed indefinitely after Easter.
Russia has to date rejected moves towards a more everlasting ceasefire, arguing that a peace deal must be agreed first.
Russia’s position has been strengthened by the resurgent conflict within the Middle East. US arms and diplomatic efforts at the moment are focused away from Ukraine and the US has eased oil sanctions on Russia resulting from Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Put simply, Russia is in an advantageous position and has no reason to conform to a ceasefire until its demands are met.
Additionally, the Middle East conflict could have served to desensitise people to the actions of the Russian government. Echoing Putin, Donald Trump often refers to motion against Iran as a “military operation”, relatively than a “war”.
Source: https://www.christiantoday.com/news/russia-and-ukraine-agree-to-temporary-orthodox-easter-truce

