Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, ordering his forces to end hostilities at 6pm Moscow time (7pm Paris time) on Saturday until the end of Sunday.

There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine.

“Based on humanitarian considerations … the Russian side announces an Easter truce. I order a stop to all military activities for this period,” Putin told his military chief, Valery Gerasimov, at a meeting in the Kremlin.

“We assume that Ukraine will follow our example. At the same time, our troops should be prepared to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions,” Putin added.

The Russian Defence Ministry said it had given instructions on the ceasefire to all group commanders in the area of the “special military operation”, the Kremlin’s term for the war.

Russian troops will adhere to the ceasefire provided it is “mutually respected” by Ukraine, the ministry said in a statement