MOSCOW/KYIV — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a 32-hour ceasefire over a two-day period for Orthodox Easter and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv would abide by the measure.

The ceasefire coincides with Orthodox Easter celebrations on Sunday.

Putin's order follows a similar 30-hour truce he announced last year, after which each side accused the other of violations. The Kremlin said the ceasefire will run from 4 pm Saturday to midnight Sunday Moscow time.

"We proceed on the basis that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation," the Kremlin announcement said.

The announcement said Defense Minister Andrei Belousov had issued an order to Russia's top commander, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, "to stop for this period military action in all directions".

"Troops are to be ready to eliminate all possible provocations by the enemy as well as any aggressive actions."

Zelensky said Ukraine had repeatedly proposed a halt to fighting for Orthodox Easter.

"Ukraine has repeatedly stated that we are ready for reciprocal steps. We proposed a ceasefire during the Easter holiday this year and will act accordingly," Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

"People need an Easter without threats and a real move toward peace, and Russia has a chance not to return to attacks even after Easter."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency TASS that Putin's ceasefire proposal had not been discussed in advance with the United States. Nor was it linked to any notion of resuming three-way talks on a settlement.

Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, meanwhile, is in the US and is meeting members of US President Donald Trump's administration for discussions on a peace deal and US-Russia economic cooperation, sources with knowledge of the visit told Reuters.

According to the Orthodox calendar, dominant in both Russia and Ukraine, Easter falls this year on April 12.

Both sides have put forward ceasefire proposals on multiple occasions, without reaching an agreement.