On the afternoon of April 11, local time, the Orthodox Easter ceasefire announced by Russian President Putin began. The ceasefire took effect at 16:00 Moscow time on the 11th (21:00 Beijing time) and lasted until 24:00 on the 12th (5:00 Beijing time on the 13th).
On the same day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine issued a message clarifying that Ukraine will remain silent during Easter and follow the clear principle of "tit for tat." Ukrainian President Zelensky posted a message on social media in the early morning of the 10th, saying that Ukraine would adopt a reciprocal ceasefire in response to Russia's earlier announcement that it would cease fire for 32 hours during the Orthodox Easter period.
However, shortly after the ceasefire came into effect, Oganetsov, the Russian-appointed acting mayor of Novokakhovka in the Kherson region, said that Ukrainian armed forces violated the Orthodox Easter ceasefire agreement and attacked the city, injuring one civilian. Uzbekistan has yet to respond.
Russia and Ukraine exchange 350 prisoners of war
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 11th that 175 Russian prisoners of war were repatriated from areas controlled by Ukraine that day. In exchange, 175 Ukrainian prisoners of war were repatriated.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated through social media that the above-mentioned repatriated Russian soldiers are currently in Belarus and they have received necessary medical and psychological assistance. These soldiers will then be sent to military medical institutions in Russia for rehabilitation treatment. The Russian Ministry of Defense also said that seven other Russian citizens previously detained by Ukraine were also released on the same day.
Ukrainian President Zelensky announced on social media that day that 175 Ukrainian soldiers and 7 civilians detained by Russia have returned home. Most of these soldiers have been detained since 2022.
Special Representative of the Russian President visits the United States
Expert: Mutual trust between Russia and the United States is still seriously insufficient
On April 10, local time, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov stated at a briefing that Dmitriev, President of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Special Presidential Representative for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, is visiting the United States and will continue to maintain contact on the restoration of economic cooperation between Russia and the United States.
What diplomatic signal does this visit reveal? What are the possible issues between Russia and the United States? Can economic cooperation be advanced independently from security issues?
CCTV Global Information's "Flash Review" invited Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, to conduct analysis and interpretation.
Now Russia's focus is still on Russia-US relations. Given the complex situation in the Middle East, it is impossible for the United States to withdraw from promoting negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Russia seeks direct contact with the United States to allow the United States to lift sanctions on Russia in some important areas. Russia only sent a special representative responsible for investment and economic affairs during this visit, which also shows that there are still many obstacles to high-level diplomatic negotiations between Russia and the United States.
The first topic of Dmitriev's visit may be his hope to extend the exemption of US sanctions on Russian oil. The so-called sanctions exemption granted by the United States to Russia is actually an adjustment based on the development of the situation and a conditional cooperation with Russia. In fact, the political relations between the two countries have not substantially improved.
Mutual trust between Russia and the United States is still seriously insufficient. After the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expired this year, security issues between the two sides were shelved. In fact, there will be some practical obstacles to the normalization of relations between the two countries, including seeking consensus on some major issues.
Source: Daily Economic News is compiled from CCTV News and Xinhua News Agency
