Putin announces temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine invasion

“Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18.00 to 00.00 from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce.

“I order that all military actions be stopped for this period,” Mr Putin said at a meeting with chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov, the Kremlin’s press service quoted him as saying.

“We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions,” Mr Putin said.

The announcement came on the same day as Russia’s defence ministry said its forces pushed Ukrainian forces from one of their last remaining footholds in Russia’s Kursk region.

Yesterday, Donald Trump said that the US could “take a pass” on Ukraine peace talks if they become too difficult but added he thought there was a “good chance” of succeeding.

Sir Keir Starmer discussed Ukraine with the US president in a phone call on Friday, Downing Street said, but did not give further details.

Mr Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio had suggested that Washington could “move on” if progress is not made within days in comments after a meeting in Paris with UK, EU and Ukrainian delegations.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy had said those talks underscored the “shared commitment to global security”.

Mr Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that “Marco is right in saying … we want to see it end”.

“If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re going to say you’re fools, you’re foolish, and we’re just going to take a pass,” he said.

But he added he believes there is “a good chance of solving the problem”.

Asked if Russian President Vladimir Putin was dragging his feet on negotiations, Mr Trump replied: “I hope not.”

Meanwhile, the US and Ukraine signed a memorandum as a first step towards the stalled minerals deal, Ukraine’s economy minister said.