KYIV:&nbsp;A temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine for Orthodox Easter is set to begin on Saturday afternoon, as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war falter. The Kremlin said it had ordered a temporary truce from Saturday at 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) until the end of Sunday, a 32-hour period. Russia&#39;s Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and army chief Valery Gerasimov have been instructed to &ldquo;cease hostilities in all directions during this period,&rdquo; the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/russian-envoy-in-us-for-economy-talks-kremlin" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kremlin</a> said. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/qatar-ukraine-sign-deal-on-countering-missiles-drones-qatari-defense-ministry" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ukrainian</a> President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv had &ldquo;repeatedly stated&rdquo; it was ready for a ceasefire over Easter, and was willing to reciprocate. The temporary ceasefire came as US-led talks on ending the four-year-old conflict have been derailed by the US-Israel war on Iran. The two sides also held a ceasefire for the Orthodox Easter last year. Authorities in Ukraine&#39;s central region of Poltava, and Sumy, a region in the north east, reported overnight Friday that one person had been killed and around 15 others wounded in two separate attacks, just hours before the ceasefire was set to begin. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 128 drones against the country overnight Thursday. Slowdown in Russian military operations&nbsp;Several rounds of US-led talks have failed to bring the warring sides closer to an agreement and Washington&#39;s attention is now focused on Iran. The negotiations have become deadlocked, with Moscow demanding territorial and political concessions that Zelensky has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation. The Kremlin&#39;s spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russia had discussed the ceasefire with Ukraine or the United States in advance and said it was not linked to negotiations to end the war.&nbsp;Deadliest since WW IIThe war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes, making it Europe&#39;s deadliest conflict since World War II. Over the past few years, fighting on the front has come to a near standstill.&nbsp; Russia has made small territorial gains at a high cost. But Kyiv recently managed to push back in the southeast and Russian advances have been slowing since late 2025, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Apart from Ukrainian counter-attacks, analysts attributed the slowdown to Russia being banned from using SpaceX&#39;s Starlink satellites and Moscow&#39;s own efforts to block the Telegram messaging app. The situation is, however, unfavorable for Ukraine in the Donetsk region, towards the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, according to the ISW. Moscow occupies just more than 19% of Ukraine, most of which was seized during the first weeks of the conflict.

Europe

The Kremlin says it has ordered a temporary truce from Saturday at 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) until the end of Sunday, a 32-hour period.

Russia and Ukraine set to begin Easter truce

MOSCOW: Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev is in the United States for talks on the economy, Russia said Friday, stressing that he would not be holding discussions on the Ukraine war. &quot;Kirill Dmitriev is not conducting negotiations on a settlement of the Ukrainian issue. This does not constitute a resumption of negotiations,&quot; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP. &quot;Kirill Dmitriev heads the economic affairs group and he continues his work within the framework of this group.&quot; Dmitriev, who heads a Russian state investment fund, has been one of Moscow&#39;s main conduits for talks with Washington since Donald Trump returned to the White House last year and has travelled to the US several times, including last month. He is pushing for the US to relax sanctions and boost business ties with Russia, though has made little progress. Talks on the Ukraine war have been stalled for weeks, with Moscow sticking to hard-line territorial and political demands that Ukraine has ruled out. Trump has flipped between putting pressure on Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict, which he claimed he would resolve within hours of returning to office.

Asia

Americas

Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev is in Washington for economic talks, Russia said, stressing he is not discussing Ukraine, as broader negotiations remain stalled and Moscow continues pressing for sanctions relief.

Russian envoy in US for economy talks: Kremlin

MOSCOW: Russia has confirmed that a new round of talks with Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi on ending the four-year-war will start Wednesday, after they were postponed from this weekend. Moscow blamed a scheduling issue for the delay, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said the negotiations would take place in the UAE capital on Wednesday and Thursday. &quot;They were indeed originally planned for this past Sunday. But additional coordination of the schedules of the three parties was needed,&quot; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters &quot;Now, on Wednesday-Thursday, the second round will indeed take place. It will be held in Abu Dhabi. We can confirm that,&quot; he added. The talks will take place less than two weeks before the fourth anniversary of Moscow launching its full-scale offensive against Ukraine. They are expected to focus on the crucial issue of territory, with neither side so far showing any sign of a breakthrough. Washington is pushing for an end to the war between the neighbours, which has killed tens of thousands, forced millions to flee their homes and destroyed much of eastern and southern Ukraine.

A Palestinian delegation convoy drives inside the Kremlin grounds during talks between Russian President and Palestinian President in central Moscow on January 22, 2026. (AFP)

Moscow blamed a scheduling issue for the delay, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said the negotiations would take place in the UAE capital.

Kremlin confirms Ukraine war talks this week in Abu Dhabi

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: source-sans-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">MOSCOW: The Kremlin confirmed Wednesday that US envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as Washington presses negotiations on a plan to end the Ukraine conflict. &quot;A preliminary agreement has been reached on (Witkoff&#39;s) visit to Moscow next week,&quot; Putin&#39;s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Russian TV. Several other officials from President Donald Trump&#39;s administration will accompany Witkoff, Ushakov said. Trump first announced the trip Tuesday, saying Witkoff would meet with Putin in Moscow and may be joined by Jared Kushner, the US president&#39;s son-in-law. The confirmation comes after news agency Bloomberg reported that Witkoff had coached Ushakov on how Putin should talk to Trump about a potential plan to end the conflict in Ukraine. &quot;I speak fairly often with Witkoff, but the content of those conversations is confidential,&quot; Ushakov said in his comments to Russian TV. He said such reports risked damaging US-Russian ties, which &quot;are being built, with difficulty&quot;, notably through phone calls.

The Kremlin confirmed that US envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Moscow next week to meet President Vladimir Putin, with additional Trump administration officials joining as Washington pushes negotiations on a plan to end the Ukraine conflict, adviser Yuri Ushakov said.

Articles tagged with "Kremlin"

Russia and Ukraine set to begin Easter truce

Russian envoy in US for economy talks: Kremlin

Kremlin confirms Ukraine war talks this week in Abu Dhabi

Kremlin confirms US envoy Witkoff will visit Moscow next week