The rare Russia-Ukraine Orthodox Easter truce is already bearing much positive fruit, as both sides have on Saturday confirmed a massive POW swap involving 350 captives.
In a press release, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that “175 Russian service members were returned from territory controlled by the Kiev regime, while in exchange, 175 Ukrainian Armed Forces prisoners of war were handed over.”
Additionally, the ministry announced that seven civilians from Kursk Region – who are believed to be the last hostages still held from a major Ukrainian army border incursion last year – were set free and will soon return home as part of the exchange.
The Russian servicemen are currently in neighboring Belarus undergoing medical evaluation ahead of making the final journey home to be reunited with their families.
On Friday, just the day prior, the two warring sides announced an Easter truce. The truce extends 32-hours for the whole holiday weekend.
Based on regional media reporting of the rare ceasefire, the pause in fighting has been holding and will run until midnight on Sunday.
This will cover the whole period of Orthodox Pascha (Easter) celebrations in both countries, which is done according to the Julian calendar and thus typically comes a weekend or two later that Western Easter (on the Gregorian calendar). The overwhelming majorities of both countries are adherents of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Typically in orthodox churches there is a long Saturday morning service, and then the main liturgy comes at midnight – going into the early Sunday morning hours, followed by feasting and breaking the Lenten fast (after 40 days of no meat, dairy, or animal products).
And then late Sunday morning or early afternoon there is another service, after which there is more celebratory feasting. Churches across Russia and Ukraine are packed this weekend.
Russian media reports that Defense Minister Andrei Belousov has instructed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov to halt Russian military operations during the period; however, just like in past short truces Russia says it will respond immediately to any ‘violations’ observed.
If the whole ceasefire proves successful, it could provide the basis for something more lasting, as both sides say they are still interested in hammering out a permanent end to the war. But for Moscow, this will require that Ukraine cede much of the east and give political recognition too, including over Crimea.