MELBOURNE, Australia – In a decisive Saturday doubles clash at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena, Great Britain booked its place in the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup finals after Harriet Dart and Jodie Burrage pulled off a straight-sets win over Australian pair Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez, sealing a 3-1 overall victory in the best-of-five qualifying tie. The British squad had already built a commanding 2-0 advantage on the opening day of play, thanks to two gritty singles wins from rising star and 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic and veteran Harriet Dart. Stojsavljevic overcame Australia’s Talia Gibson in a tight two-set battle, closing out the match 7-6(4), 7-5, while Dart bounced back from a slow first set to defeat Kimberly Birrell 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, putting Britain just one win away from qualification. Australia picked up a consolation win in the reverse singles, where 17-year-old homegrown talent Emerson Jones defeated Britain’s Katie Swan 7-5, 6-3 to adjust the final tie score to 3-1. The Billie Jean King Cup, the premier global women’s national team tennis tournament previously known as the Fed Cup, will host its 2025 finals in Shenzhen, China this coming September. As the host nation, China has already earned an automatic qualification spot for the finals stage. Six more spots in the 8-team finals lineup will be decided by the end of Saturday, with six high-stakes qualifying ties still wrapping up around the globe: defending champion Italy faces Japan, Kazakhstan takes on Canada, Switzerland goes head-to-head against the Czech Republic, Slovenia meets Spain, Belgium battles the United States, and Poland clashes with Ukraine. Teams that fall short in this round of qualifying will not go home empty-handed: they will move on to the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs scheduled for November, where spots for the 2027 tournament qualification will be determined. For more coverage of professional tennis, visit the Associated Press’ dedicated tennis hub at https://apnews.com/hub/tennis.
作者： admin
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Djibouti’s president wins unprecedented sixth term with 97.8% of vote
In a decisive landslide victory that cements nearly three decades of rule for the Horn of Africa nation, Djibouti’s incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh has won a sixth five-year term in office, preliminary official results from the country’s recent presidential election confirm. The 78-year-old leader secured a staggering 97.8% of the popular vote, with his only opponent, small-party candidate Mohamed Farah Samatar, taking just 2.19% of ballots cast.
The result was widely anticipated after most of Djibouti’s major opposition coalitions announced a boycott of the poll, repeating longstanding claims that the country does not permit free and open political competition. Leading opposition figures including Dahir Ahmed Farah have boycotted every presidential election since 2016, a pattern that held for this 2025 contest.
Samatar, who ran as the candidate of an unrepresented small opposition faction with no seats in Djibouti’s national parliament, has not issued any public response to the preliminary results as of the latest updates.Guelleh’s ability to run for another term came after a controversial constitutional amendment passed last November. The amendment removed a 75-year age cap for presidential candidates that would have disqualified him from running; the age limit was itself introduced in 2010, when Djibouti’s parliament already scrapped the previous two-term limit for the presidency and shortened presidential terms from six to five years to accommodate Guelleh’s extended tenure. The incumbent had previously publicly pledged to step down ahead of this election cycle, reversing that promise after the constitutional change was approved.
Located on the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and serving as the primary maritime gateway to the Suez Canal — one of the world’s busiest and most economically vital shipping lanes — Djibouti holds unique geostrategic importance. It hosts military bases for five major global powers: the United States, China, France, Italy, and Japan, making it a key hub for regional security and counter-terrorism operations.
During his election campaign, Guelleh centered his platform on his track record of maintaining political stability in Djibouti, a rare constant in a region marked by ongoing armed conflict and political upheaval across neighboring states and nearby Middle Eastern nations. The 78-year-old leader is only the second president Djibouti has had since it gained full independence from France in 1977, and he has already held the presidency for 27 years. He won the 2021 election by a similarly overwhelming margin.
Election officials reported that more than 80% of registered voters turned out to cast ballots in Friday’s vote. While the interior ministry has released the preliminary results, the outcome still requires formal validation by the Constitutional Council’s judiciary before Guelleh can be sworn in for his new five-year term. Celebrating his projected victory at his private residence, Guelleh framed the win as a success for the entire Djiboutian nation.
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‘You are my god’, Japan’s PM tells British rock band Deep Purple
On a crisp Friday in central Tokyo, one of the world’s most influential hard rock acts crossed paths with their most high-profile admirer – Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, a decades-long Deep Purple superfan.
The legendary British rock group, currently on a Japanese tour commemorating their historic 1972 live album *Made in Japan* – widely ranked among the greatest live rock records ever cut – met Takaichi at her official office ahead of their Saturday headline set at Tokyo’s iconic Nippon Budokan arena. For 65-year-old Takaichi, the encounter was the fulfillment of a fandom that began when she was a primary school student, when she first picked up the band’s breakthrough 1971 studio album *Machine Head*.
A skilled amateur percussionist herself, Takaichi cut her musical teeth performing with a Deep Purple tribute act as a teenager; she started on keyboards before switching to drums during her university years. In a playful revelation to the band, the conservative leader shared that she still turns to the band’s raw, high-energy sound to blow off steam today: “These days, when I fight with my husband I drum to *Burn* and cast a curse on him,” she told the group, laughing. Greeting founding drummer Ian Paice with a broad smile, Takaichi presented him with a custom pair of hand-signed Japanese-made drumsticks, telling him “You are my god.”
Through an interpreter, Takaichi expressed profound admiration for the band’s enduring five-decade career, noting: “I have the deepest respect for the way you continue to make rock history while embracing new challenges and creating captivating music to this day.” She added that she hoped the band’s cross-country tour would not only thrill Japanese rock fans but also strengthen cultural ties between the United Kingdom and Japan.
Formed in Hertfordshire, England, in 1968, Deep Purple holds a place as one third of the “unholy trinity” of foundational British heavy metal, alongside fellow icons Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. The band is best known for their era-defining hit *Smoke on the Water*, whose iconic guitar riff remains one of the most recognizable in rock history. The group’s current tour marks a homecoming of sorts: it was in Japan that Deep Purple recorded *Made in Japan* over 50 years ago, a record that cemented their global stardom.
Paice, the band’s founding drummer, called the meeting with the prime minister an unexpected delight, describing it as a special “added bonus” to the band’s already anticipated return to Japan. In an Instagram post documenting the meeting, the band highlighted that Takaichi has long been open about her love for hard rock and heavy metal, and has repeatedly named Deep Purple as one of her all-time favorite acts. Takaichi’s history with drumming is well-documented: she was known for carrying multiple sets of drumsticks to performances early on, thanks to her intense playing style that often left sticks broken mid-set.
The lighthearted meeting comes as a rare break for Takaichi, who has navigated a series of pressing political and economic challenges since taking office last October, including strained diplomatic relations with neighboring China, persistent domestic inflation, and a stagnant national economy.
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UK to shelve Chagos handover after Trump criticism
The United Kingdom has formally paused its controversial plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, a decision triggered by fierce public pushback from U.S. President Donald Trump, a British government spokesperson confirmed Saturday. The archipelago is home to the strategically critical Diego Garcia joint U.S.-UK military base, a key defense outpost for both nations that has played a role in Western military operations in the Middle East and Indian Ocean region.
Downing Street has long maintained that any finalized agreement to hand over the Indian Ocean territory would only move forward with explicit backing from Washington. “Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US. Ensuring its long-term operational security is and will continue to be our priority – it is the entire reason for the deal,” the spokesperson said in an official statement, adding that British officials will continue diplomatic engagement with both the U.S. and Mauritius moving forward.
The draft legislation needed to formalize the 2024 Chagos Agreement, originally reached between London and Port Louis in May of that year, was already facing an imminent deadline: the UK Parliament is set to dissolve in the coming weeks for a general election, and the bill will not have enough time to pass through all required parliamentary stages. Government sources told the BBC that the plan is not being completely scrapped entirely, but no new legislation is expected to be introduced after the election, effectively putting the deal on ice indefinitely.
Under the original terms of the 2024 agreement, Britain would have transferred full sovereignty over the entire archipelago – located roughly 1,200 miles northeast of Mauritius – to its former colonial possession, in exchange for a 99-year lease on Diego Garcia to maintain the military base, with an option to extend the lease for a further term. Unconfirmed reports put the annual lease payment at £90 million ($111 million), a figure the UK government has neither confirmed nor denied. Former Prime Minister Keir Starmer had previously argued that the agreement was the only viable path forward, noting that international legal rulings had cast doubt on Britain’s longstanding claim to the territory and that a formal deal with Mauritius was the only way to guarantee the base could remain operational long-term.
President Trump’s opposition to the deal marked a sharp reversal from his initial position: he had endorsed the agreement after it was signed, before launching a scathing public attack on the plan in posts to his Truth Social platform in January. He slammed London’s proposal as “great stupidity” and “an act of total weakness” that would be noticed by major geopolitical rivals China and Russia. In the same post, Trump went so far as to argue that the episode justified his longstanding call for the U.S. to take control of Greenland from NATO ally Denmark. The Diego Garcia base has long held major strategic importance for the U.S. and UK; most recently, the British government confirmed the base was used to launch what it described as “defensive operations” in its conflict against Iran.
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Hundreds of Irish petrol stations run out of fuel as protests continue
As demonstrations against skyrocketing fuel prices stretched into a fifth consecutive day on Friday, large swathes of the Republic of Ireland faced crippling travel disruption, with hundreds of retail fuel outlets entirely out of stock and major transport routes blocked by slow-moving protest convoys led by agricultural tractors.
The unrest stems from dramatic fuel price increases triggered by the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which has shuttered the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint that carries roughly 20% of global oil trade. This global supply shock has sent Irish fuel costs surging: in recent weeks, average diesel prices have jumped from around €1.70 per litre to €2.17, while petrol prices have risen by as much as 25 cent per litre at many forecourts across the country. As of Friday, state broadcaster RTÉ confirmed that approximately 500 petrol and diesel outlets have been completely drained of fuel by panic buying and supply chain blockades.
Protest organizers, drawing participants from the farming and haulage sectors, have deployed slow-moving convoys and tractor-led blockades across key national infrastructure. Blockades are currently in place across multiple major motorways, including closed sections of the M50, full both-way closure of the M7 at Portlaoise, a northbound blockage on the M8 at Cashel South, and disruptions at multiple locations across County Clare, County Limerick and Monaghan town. Three key national fuel storage facilities are also blocked by protesters, and central Dublin’s busiest corridors — including O’Connell Street and South Quay — remain closed to general traffic.
The disruption has spilled over into public transport, with multiple services suspended across Dublin and major delays for airport passengers. State-owned transport operator Bus Éireann has confirmed it is working to maintain limited access to Dublin Airport, and has advised all passengers heading to Dublin and Shannon Airports to allocate extra travel time for altered routes and long delays.
In response to the escalating crisis, Ireland’s national police service An Garda Síochána has officially declared the protests an “exceptional event”, a designation that allows the force to double the number of active officers deployed to manage the unrest and clear blockades. The National Emergency Coordination Group, the inter-agency body tasked with managing national crises, has warned that fuel supplies for critical emergency services including fire brigades and ambulance fleets are facing growing strain as blockades cut off supply chains.
Following days of constructive talks between government officials and representatives from the haulage and farming sectors, Irish leaders have confirmed that a targeted fuel support package is in the final stages of preparation. Tánaiste and Finance Minister Simon Harris told reporters on Friday that the incoming support package will be “substantial and significant” for key impacted sectors of the Irish economy, noting that negotiations have been progressing well, with intensive talks set to continue through the weekend. But Harris stressed that the ongoing blockades cannot continue, saying “The blockade has to end.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin echoed the urgency of lifting the blockades, warning that the continued disruption comes at a particularly precarious moment for global energy markets, saying the country is “on the precipice of turning oil away from the country” during an ongoing global oil supply crisis. Protests first launched on Tuesday morning, and demonstration leaders have shown no immediate indication of lifting blockades ahead of this weekend’s negotiations.
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Baseball statue broken as it is unveiled in Seattle
A planned moment of baseball immortality took an unexpected, humorous turn Friday outside T-Mobile Park, when a bronze statue honoring former Seattle Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki suffered an embarrassing mishap during its official unveiling. As the protective blue covering was pulled away from the monument by team officials, hundreds of gathered fans and dignitaries heard a sharp snapping noise, followed by a visible drop in the statue’s upper section: the sculpted replica of Suzuki’s signature game bat had split clean off. The 52-year-old Hall of Famer, who was on hand for the ceremony, reacted with immediate good humor, pointing at the broken bat in amused disbelief before breaking into a hearty laugh that quickly diffused any awkwardness among the crowd. The lighthearted incident came exactly one year after Suzuki received one of the highest honors in North American baseball, earning near-unanimous induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, capping a trailblazing 28-year professional career that spanned leagues in both Japan and the United States. After moving from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball in 2001, Suzuki spent 12 of his 18 MLB seasons with the Mariners, cementing his legacy as one of the franchise’s most iconic players before brief stints with the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins. He returned to Seattle for his final two seasons before retiring in 2019. The statue itself captures Suzuki in his iconic 2001 rookie season right fielder uniform, posed in his recognizable batting stance. Speaking to reporters after the incident, Suzuki shared a fun behind-the-scenes detail of the statue’s creation: sculptor Lou Cella had asked him to model the original 2001 uniform for reference photos, and the legend said he was pleased to discover he could still fit into the two-decade-old uniform years after his retirement. Mariners CEO John Stanton, who helped pull the tarp off the monument that would lead to the broken bat, praised Suzuki’s relentless commitment to the sport before the mishap, telling the crowd that the outfielder’s meticulous approach to preparation and play made him fully deserving of the everlasting honor the statue represents. Far from hiding the accidental break, the Mariners organization leaned into the humor of the moment. On social media, the team posted a playful joke about the incident, writing “Breaking: We’ve updated tonight’s Ichiro Replica Statue giveaway” alongside a photo of a mini figurine that also featured a broken bat matching the full-size monument. Crews worked quickly to repair the damage, and the statue was fully restored in time for the Mariners’ Friday night matchup against the Houston Astros, allowing fans to take in the tribute as planned after the morning’s unexpected joke. Over his legendary career, Suzuki rewrote the MLB record book: one of his most notable achievements came in 2004, when he broke an 84-year-old longstanding record for most hits in a single regular season, notching 262 hits — five more than the previous record set by baseball icon George Sisler back in 1920. The moment of unexpected comedy during the unveiling has already become a memorable add-on to Suzuki’s legacy, with fans and the team embracing the unplanned moment as a uniquely human tribute to one of baseball’s most beloved figures.
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Artemis crew home safely after greatest journey in a generation
After a groundbreaking nine-day journey further from Earth than any human crew has ever traveled, NASA’s Artemis II mission four-person team has completed a flawless re-entry and safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, bringing humanity one giant step closer to returning astronauts to the lunar surface.
The mission, which circled the Moon, closed its final chapter when the European Space Agency-built service module — the component that supplied power and propulsion for Orion throughout its deep space trek — separated from the crew capsule at 19:33 EDT (00:33 BST). What followed was the highest-stakes phase of the entire voyage: atmospheric re-entry, a maneuver that demanded near-perfect precision to avoid catastrophic outcomes.
As the capsule Integrity, named by the crew, plunged into Earth’s upper atmosphere at over 24,000 miles per hour, its heatshield was exposed to temperatures reaching half the surface temperature of the Sun. Extreme heat triggered a six-minute communications blackout between the capsule and mission control in Houston, a period that left thousands of engineers and flight controllers holding their breath. When Commander Reid Wiseman’s voice cut through the silence with the words, “Houston, Integrity here. We hear you loud and clear,” celebrations broke out across the control room. Shortly after, the capsule’s red-and-white parachutes deployed perfectly, guiding Integrity to a bullseye splashdown that NASA commentator Rob Navias called a flawless end to the historic voyage.
The successful re-entry was no accident. Following the 2022 uncrewed Artemis I test flight, engineers discovered unexpected damage to Orion’s heatshield, sparking widespread concerns about crew safety on the first crewed mission. To address this risk, teams redesigned the re-entry trajectory, a change that models predicted would cut thermal stress on the heatshield. Artemis II marked the first in-flight test of this adjusted return path, and while full thermal data analysis is still ongoing, the safe arrival of the crew confirms the engineering adjustment worked as intended.
Once the capsule settled in the ocean, recovery teams carefully extracted the crew: Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The four were airlifted to the USS John P Murtha for initial medical checks, and photographs from the recovery ship show the crew smiling, chatting, and posing for photos as they began their recovery back to Earth gravity. They will be flown to Houston on Saturday to reunite with their families, though NASA has not yet announced a date for their first public appearance.
Flight Director Rick Henfling shared at a post-splashdown press conference that the entire team felt a mix of intense anxiety and steady confidence through the re-entry process. “We all breathed a sigh of relief once the (capsule’s) side hatch opened up,” he said. “The flight crew is happy and healthy and ready to come home to Houston.”
Acting NASA associate administrator Lori Glaze heaped praise on the crew, highlighting both their individual capabilities and the exceptional teamwork they displayed throughout the mission. “I think they really brought an amazing sense of what we were trying to achieve,” she said. “It was a mission for all of humanity.”
NASA associate administrator Anit Kshatriya emphasized that the perfect re-entry trajectory was not a stroke of luck, but the product of relentless work by thousands of aerospace professionals. “The team hit it, that is not luck, it is 1,000 people doing their jobs,” he noted.
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the crew home in a public statement, calling the entire 10-day mission “spectacular” and reaffirming a standing invitation for the crew to visit the White House.
This safe return marks a critical milestone for NASA’s broader Artemis Program, which was launched to resume human lunar exploration for the first time since the final Apollo mission in 1972, build a permanent outpost on the Moon, and lay the groundwork for the first crewed mission to Mars. With Artemis II’s success confirming that Orion’s hardware, navigation systems, and crew operations function as intended in deep space, the program can now move forward to its next phases.
Under the plan laid out by new NASA administrator Jared Isaacman, the next mission, Artemis III, has been redesigned as an Earth-orbit test flight to practice rendezvous and docking procedures with lunar landers built by SpaceX and Blue Origin, and is currently scheduled for mid-2027. The first crewed lunar landing, Artemis IV, is targeted for 2028, though some industry analysts have raised questions about whether that timeline can be met. While today’s successful homecoming does not yet put human boots back on the lunar surface, it lays a solid foundation for the ambitious work ahead — even as the hardest challenges of landing humans on the Moon still lie ahead.
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NASA’s Artemis II splashes down off southern US California coast
In a landmark moment marking humanity’s return to crewed lunar exploration after more than half a century, four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission have completed their 10-day voyage around the moon and touched down safely off the California coast, the U.S. space agency confirmed.
The mission’s Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at approximately 17:07 local time on Friday (00:07 GMT Saturday), roughly 96 kilometers off the coast of San Diego, according to NASA’s official mission updates. This successful return caps a milestone journey: it is the first crewed lunar mission launched by the United States since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission lifted off from the moon in 1972, ending the first era of human lunar landings.
Shortly after the capsule completed its splashdown, Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman announced that all four members of the crew are in good condition, easing any post-mission health concerns that followed the high-speed atmospheric reentry. The successful conclusion of Artemis II paves the way for the upcoming Artemis III mission, which plans to land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, advancing NASA’s long-term goals of establishing a sustainable human presence on the moon and preparing for future crewed missions to Mars.
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Chang’e 7 lunar probe to be launched later this year
China’s ambitious next step in lunar exploration is on track for liftoff in the second half of 2026, with the Chang’e 7 robotic probe now fully prepared for final pre-launch operations at its coastal launch site, China’s human spaceflight authority has confirmed.
As of April 9, all structural components and scientific instruments of the Chang’e 7 probe have arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China’s Hainan Province, transported via a combination of air and road shipments, according to an official statement from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). In the coming months, engineering teams will complete on-site assembly of the spacecraft and conduct a full suite of functionality and integration tests to confirm the probe is flight-ready.
The core objective of the Chang’e 7 mission is to map the unique geological environment and natural resource reserves of the moon’s south polar region, an area that has emerged as a high-priority target for global lunar exploration in recent years. To achieve this goal, the mission will pursue major breakthroughs in several cutting-edge space technologies, including high-accuracy soft landing on the uneven lunar surface, legged rover mobility, and controlled hopping detection for permanently shadowed craters – regions that never receive sunlight and are thought to hold large deposits of water ice.
Unlike previous lunar missions that relied on a single flight architecture, Chang’e 7 will use a combined multi-phase operation approach: an orbiter will survey the region from lunar orbit, while a lander, a mobile rover, and a small hopping flying probe will conduct on-site surface investigations. The mission will also host multiple collaborative scientific projects with international research institutions, underscoring China’s commitment to open space exploration.
In a notable shift from past Chang’e program announcements, CMSA, rather than the China National Space Administration (CNSA), which has overseen robotic lunar exploration updates for decades, released this latest progress update. Agency officials explained the change is part of a broader plan to integrate China’s existing capabilities in both manned lunar exploration development and unmanned robotic lunar research.
“By combining the technological advances and decades of mission experience accumulated through both the national manned space program and the Chang’e robotic exploration initiative, we can greatly improve the overall efficiency of China’s lunar exploration efforts,” the statement noted.
Per pre-launch mission design documents, Chang’e 7 consists of four integrated modules: the orbiter, lander, rover, and the small hopping flying probe. The latter craft is specifically engineered to descend into permanently shadowed craters to search for and analyze water ice, a resource that is critical for future long-term human lunar outposts and deep space exploration missions. In a nod to international collaboration, the probe carries six scientific payloads developed by research teams from around the world. These include laser retroreflector arrays from Italy’s National Institute for Nuclear Physics Frascati National Laboratory, a lunar dust and electric field instrument from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Space Research Institute, and an international lunar-based telescope from the International Lunar Observatory Association.
China’s Chang’e program has already completed six landmark robotic lunar missions since its inception, cementing the country’s position as a global leader in deep space exploration. Previous missions have achieved a series of historic firsts: Chang’e 3 and Chang’e 4 successfully deployed two rovers on the lunar near side and far side respectively, while Chang’e 5 and Chang’e 6 retrieved lunar surface samples from both the near and far sides of the moon – a feat no other space program has accomplished to date.
With pre-launch preparation moving forward according to schedule, Chang’e 7 is set to open a new chapter of detailed scientific exploration of the lunar south pole, generating data that will inform both future unmanned research and China’s planned manned lunar landing missions targeted for before 2030.
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Russian strikes on Odesa kill 2 ahead of Orthodox Easter ceasefire
In a pre-ceasefire escalation that has heightened tensions ahead of the Orthodox Easter holiday, Russian overnight drone attacks on the strategic Black Sea port city of Odesa left at least two civilians dead and two more injured, Ukrainian local authorities confirmed Saturday. The assault, which targeted a residential neighborhood, caused extensive damage to multiple apartment blocks, private homes, and a nearby kindergarten, just hours before a 32-hour truce broached by Russian President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to take effect.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force statement, Moscow launched a massive wave of 160 drones across Ukrainian territory overnight, with 133 of the unmanned aerial vehicles successfully intercepted and destroyed by Ukrainian air defenses. In a simultaneous counterclaim, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that its own forces shot down 99 Ukrainian drones across Russian territory and the Moscow-occupied Crimean Peninsula overnight.
Putin first announced the planned holiday ceasefire on Thursday, ordering all Russian combat forces to cease offensive and defensive hostilities starting at 4 p.m. local time Saturday through the end of Sunday for the Orthodox Easter observance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Saturday that Kyiv would respect the truce, framing the pause in fighting as a potential opening to advance diplomatic efforts toward lasting peace. However, he issued a clear warning that any violation of the ceasefire by Russian forces would be met with an immediate, robust military response.
“Easter should be a time of silence and safety. A ceasefire at Easter could also become the beginning of real movement toward peace,” Zelenskyy wrote in an official online post Saturday. “We all understand who we are dealing with. Ukraine will adhere to the ceasefire and respond strictly in kind.”
The proposed truce follows an earlier Ukrainian proposal to Russia for a mutual pause in strikes on each side’s energy infrastructure over the Orthodox Easter period. Past attempts to implement ceasefires between the two warring parties have largely failed, with both sides repeatedly accusing one another of violating the terms of agreed pauses within hours of them taking effect.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov framed Putin’s ceasefire announcement as a humanitarian gesture Friday, but reiterated that Moscow remains unwilling to move toward a comprehensive peace settlement unless its longstanding core demands are met — a sticking point that has blocked any meaningful diplomatic progress since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, now in its third year (correction from the original text: the invasion entered its third year in 2024, not fifth).
Beyond the ceasefire, discussions have also been held to carry out a new round of prisoner exchanges over the Easter weekend. Russian human rights ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova confirmed last week that negotiators from both sides are currently working to finalize details for the swap. Periodic prisoner exchanges have stood as one of the only areas of consistent progress in months of U.S.-brokered negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, which have failed to deliver breakthroughs on the core political and territorial issues that stand in the way of ending the full-scale invasion.