Putin declares temporary ‘Easter truce’ in Ukraine
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(LONDON) — Russian President Vladimir Putin declared an “Easter truce” in the war in Ukraine on Saturday, saying that the Russian side will cease military action from 6 p.m. local Saturday night until midnight April 21.
Putin said he assumes that “the Ukrainian side will follow our example,” according to a statement on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel. But he also says Russia will respond to “violations of the truce and provocations” by Ukraine, the statement said.
In a statement Saturday, Zelenskyy did not say whether or not Ukraine would agree to the truce, but called the proposal “yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives” and pointing out that there were still Russian attacks being launched in the hour before the Russian ceasefire was meant to take effect.
The proposed truce comes as U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, continued holding talks in Paris this week to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Rubio said the talks were “productive” but asserted that the U.S. was willing to move on from the negotiations if they didn’t yield results.
“We need to figure out here, now within a matter of days, whether this is doable in the short term, because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on,” Rubio said on the tarmac as he left France early Friday morning.
Later, at the White House, President Donald Trump echoed Rubio’s assertion — saying that the U.S. would make a determination “very shortly.”
In the wake of Rubio’s public comments, Moscow signaled it was in no hurry to strike a deal.
These developments also come as one potential indicator of progress — a 30-day ceasefire intended to pause strikes on energy infrastructure targets—has expired, with no word from Putin on whether Moscow will restart attacks on those targets.
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of repeatedly violating the agreement, which was brokered by the Trump administration last month.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
ABC News’ Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — One of the four bodies handed over from Gaza to Israel on Thursday does not include a hostage, the Israel Defense Forces said, calling it a “very serious violation” by Hamas.
Thursday marked the latest return of deceased hostages as part of the group’s ceasefire deal with Israel. Israel and Hamas had confirmed the names of the four bodies returned to Israel Thursday as Oded Lifshitz, a journalist and peace activist, and Shiri Bibas and her two children — Ariel and Kfir Bibas.
After Israeli officials conducted forensic analysis to confirm the identities of the bodies, the IDF said the bodies of Lifshitz and Shiri Bibas’ two children were identified. But the fourth body was not Shiri Bibas — nor was it a match for another hostage, the IDF said.
“It is an anonymous body without identification,” the IDF said in a statement. “This is a very serious violation by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is required by the agreement to return four dead abductees. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all of our abductees.”
“We share the deep sorrow of the Bibas family at this difficult time,” the statement added.
Hamas has not responded to the IDF’s findings.
Red Cross officials took custody of four black coffins during a ceremony in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis earlier Thursday. A Red Cross official and a Hamas commander appeared on a stage to sign documents as part of the handover. The coffins were also brought onto the stage.
A banner on the stage declared in both Arabic and English: “The Return of War = The Return of Your Prisoners in Coffins.”
An Israeli security official confirmed to ABC News that an IDF-held ceremony took place in the IDF-controlled Gaza buffer zone before the coffins were brought across the border into Israel. The bodies were taken to Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv’s Abu Kabir neighborhood.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement confirming Israel’s receipt of the bodies earlier Thursday. “The families of the abductees have been informed and our hearts go out to them at this difficult time,” the statement said.
“The public is asked to respect the families’ privacy and refrain from spreading rumors and information that is not official and well-founded,” it added.
During the handover, Hamas released a statement that read in part, “To the families of Bibas and Lifshitz: We would have preferred your sons to return to you alive, but your army and government leaders chose to kill them instead of bringing them back.”
“They killed with them: 17,881 Palestinian children, in their criminal bombardment of the Gaza Strip, and we know that you know who is truly responsible for their departure,” the statement added. “You were the victim of a leadership that does not care about its children.”
Kfir Bibas was 8 1/2 months old when he was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 — the youngest of the 251 hostages taken on the day the group carried out its terror attack on Israel — the worst in the country’s history. In the ensuing war, more than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.
Ariel Bibas was 4 at the time of his death, the IDF said. Both children were determined to have been killed in captivity in November 2023, the IDF said Thursday.
Their father, Yarden Bibas, was also kidnapped and freed earlier this month, the IDF said.
Oded Lifshitz’s wife, Yocheved, was among the first few hostages released during the first ceasefire agreement in November 2023. Sixty-nine hostages remain in Gaza after Thursday’s release.
“At this difficult time, our hearts go out to the grieving families,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
The Hostage Families Forum called for the second stage of the three-stage ceasefire to proceed, saying there is “no time to waste.” In the second phase of the ceasefire agreement — which should last 42 days — Israel is to completely withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip. Hamas and Israel also agreed to a permanent cessation of all military operations and hostilities before all remaining Israeli hostages, civilians and soldiers are released by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
“We received the heart-shattering news that Shiri Bibas, her children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz are no longer with us. This news cuts like a knife through our hearts, the families’ hearts and the hearts of people all over the world,” the families of the hostages said in a statement Wednesday.
“We grieve not only for them, but for the other precious lives lost, including four more deceased hostages who will be returned next week,” families of hostages said.
Six other hostages are expected to be released on Saturday and four more bodies will be returned to Israel next week. The hostages who will be released on Saturday have been identified as Eliya Cohen, 27; Tal Shoham, 40; Omer Shem Tov, 22; Omer Wenkrat, 23; Hisham Al-Sayed, 36; and Avera Mengistu, 39, according to Israeli officials and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Negotiations to set the terms for the second phase of the ceasefire have not started, but mediators are pushing to have talks begin as soon as possible to allow enough time for discussion before the second phase is expected to begin (the first phase is expected to last 42 days), Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Hamas has accused Israel of avoiding negotiations and says it’s ready to negotiate.
Last week, Hamas threatened to not release hostages over the weekend, saying Israel was not holding up its end of the ceasefire by delaying the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.
Hamas later said the exchange would take place as planned and released three hostages this past Saturday.
ABC News’ Jordana Miller contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Tehran has rejected direct negotiations with the United States in regarding its nuclear program, responding to a letter from President Donald Trump, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
However, he added, the path for indirect negotiations remains open, the state news agency reported.
“In this response, although direct negotiations between the two parties are rejected, it has been stated that the path for indirect negotiations is open,” Pezeshkian said.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Pezeshkian stated that Iran’s response to the U.S. president’s letter was sent via Oman.
He emphasized that Iran has never avoided negotiations and blamed the United States for not fulfilling its former commitments, including terminating the former nuclear deal in Trump’s first term in 2018.
It was the breach of commitments that caused problems on this path, which must be addressed to restore trust, the letter underscored, according to Pezeshkian.
“It will be the actions of the Americans that determine whether negotiations continue,” he added.
(NEW YORK) — Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met on Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to discuss how to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We had a number of fruitful conversations, a number of things for us to follow up and work on,” Vance said. “And fundamentally, the goal is, as President Trump outlined it, we want the war to come to a close.”
“We want the killing to stop, but we want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that’s going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road,” the vice president said.
Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. and President Donald Trump for supporting Ukraine. He said they will work together on a plan to “stop” Russian President Vladimir Putin but emphasized Ukraine will need certain security guarantees as they move forward.
“We have good conversation today,” Zelenskyy said. “Our first meeting, not last, sure and really, what we need to speak for, to work for and to prepare the plan how to stop Putin and finish the war. We want, really, we want peace very much, but we need real security guarantees, and we will continue our meetings and our work.”
The meeting came on the heels of Trump’s 90-minute call with Putin on Wednesday, his first major diplomatic foray into the conflict he vowed on the campaign trail to bring to an end as soon as he entered office.
Trump also spoke with Zelenskyy that day, but his decision to speak with Putin first prompted criticism from the Ukrainian leader and other U.S. allies. Trump defended the decision on Thursday, saying he needed to know if Russia wanted to “make a deal.”
The administration has offered mixed messages on its position toward negotiations.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine and called full territorial liberation of Ukraine’s pre-war borders an “unrealistic” goal. Hegseth also said there would be no U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.
Vance, however, told the Wall Street Journal the option of military action is on the table if Russia doesn’t negotiate in “good faith.”
“There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage” the U.S. could use against Putin, Vance said in an interview with the newspaper.
When Trump was asked on Thursday what Russia should have to give up during negotiations, he sidestepped.
“As far as the negotiation, it’s too early to say what is going to happen,” Trump said. “Maybe Russia will give up a lot. Maybe they won’t.”
Zelenskyy said on Friday he is counting on Trump and the U.S. for support in the negotiations and that he won’t meet with Putin until “we have a joint plan with Trump and the EU.”
When asked whether negotiations will move forward even if Ukraine does not want to come to the table with Putin, Vance sidestepped.
“It’s important for us to get together and start to have the conversations that are going to be necessary to bring this thing to a close,” Vance said. “That’s all I’m going to say for now, because I want to preserve the optionality here for the negotiators and our respective teams to bring this thing to a responsible close.”
