President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that Ukraine is open to a ceasefire over Easter and called for an energy truce.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Zelensky said he would prefer a long-term ceasefire but limited “compromises” over the Easter could work as well – as long as they don’t compromise Ukraine’s “dignity and sovereignty.”
“We are ready for a ceasefire for the Easter holidays. In my opinion, to be honest, normal people who respect life talk about a ceasefire and an end to the war for life, not for a few days,” Zelensky said, according to local outlet Ukrainska Pravda.
“But, of course, we are ready for any compromises, except for compromises with our dignity and sovereignty.”
Zelensky’s comments came amid stalled US-led peace talks with Russia as Washington shifts focus to its war with Iran. He recently rejected a US proposal that he said would trade control of the eastern Donbas region – much of which Russia has failed to fully capture over more than a decade – for US security guarantees.
The remarks were disputed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who claimed Zelensky had misunderstood the proposal.
Zelensky said the latest proposal means a “complete ceasefire” over different sectors, adding that it awaits Russia’s agreement.
“We are ready to talk about any ceasefire... A complete ceasefire. An energy ceasefire. A ceasefire – food security and energy, that is, both the sea and the sky. Completely – so that neither missiles nor drones fly. No strikes on infrastructure,” Zelensky said.
“We have proposed all this. And we are open. If the ‘Russians’ are ready – please, we are ready. Let them propose it at any time – we are ready to resolve this issue,” he added.
Kyiv and Moscow have previously rebuffed each other’s ceasefire proposals, arguing they would allow the other side to regroup. However, Zelensky said he is confident that “two to three days” would be insufficient for Russia to gain any significant advantage when questioned about the latest proposal.
“They will not be able to strengthen anything in two to three days… We remember what they promised and what they failed to do in three days,” he said, referring to Russia’s rumored plans to take Kyiv in three days when launching the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Culturally, Ukraine observes both Catholic and Orthodox Easter, while Russia is predominantly Orthodox. However, Zelensky did not specify which Easter his proposal referred to.
A history of failed ceasefires
Kyiv and Moscow have proposed numerous ceasefire proposals in the four years of intense fighting, but none have yielded a meaningful truce as intended.
In March 2022, Kyiv and Moscow held talks in Istanbul at the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion and discussed a potential truce and ceasefire framework, but the talks collapsed following the Bucha massacres that surfaced after Russian troops’ withdrawal.
The UN proposed an Easter ceasefire the same year, but Russia rejected it.
In January 2023, Russia unilaterally announced a 36-hour Orthodox Christmas ceasefire, a plan rejected by Kyiv as “hypocrisy” as fighting continued.
Throughout 2024, there were rumors of intentions toward a ceasefire from both sides, but none resulted in concrete talks or proposals for an actual ceasefire, and it wasn’t until 2025 that concrete proposals were again floated by different parties.
In March 2025, soon after the re-election of US President Donald Trump, a 30-day energy truce was announced but never came into effect in practice, with Kyiv and Moscow having different interpretations of the terms and the truce’s start date.
An Easter ceasefire that year was partly observed after Kyiv accepted Moscow’s unilateral proposal, with air raid sirens and isolated frontline clashes still reported in Ukraine amid indications of reduced fighting intensity.
In May 2025, Moscow also announced a unilateral ceasefire during its WWII Victory Day commemoration that did not amount to an actual pause in fighting, according to frontline accounts in Ukraine.
Later that month, Europe pressured Moscow with a ceasefire ultimatum, to which Russia responded by proposing the resumption of the Istanbul format, which resulted in prisoner exchanges without a ceasefire as promised after a historian was sent in the place of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Throughout 2025, the Trump administration has also threatened Moscow with sanctions over the failure to produce a ceasefire on a few occasions, but none have yielded a ceasefire and instead resulted in an in-person meeting between Trump and Putin.
In December 2025, Russia rejected Germany’s proposal for a Christmas truce, saying it aimed to “achieve its goals” in Ukraine.