Charles Baines

In a statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his forces would abide by the ceasefire from 4 p.m.

Saturday through end of Easter Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously called for an Easter truce and agreed to Putin's offer, saying it was a chance for Russia to choose real progress towards peace and avoid a return to hostilities.

Yet the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later characterized the ceasefire as a temporary humanitarian gesture,

Peskov made clear in Moscow's view any lasting settlement depended on Ukraine making further territorial concessions, a demand Kiev has rejected, not least without ironclad security guarantees from the U.S.

Charles Baines, NPR News, Moscow.

Most disturbingly, there doesn't seem to be any indication of criminal wrongdoing.

Formed in the later years of the USSR, Memorial has often been at odds with the Kremlin, not only documenting the darker chapters of the Soviet past, but also abuses in Vladimir Putin's Russia.

For that work, Memorial was among human rights groups awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023.

Now, Russia's highest court has effectively criminalized any and all of Memorial's activities.

The decision was expected.

Previous courts had ordered the group's liquidation, allegedly for promoting terrorism and violating foreign agent laws.

In a statement, Memorial rejects the latest legal decision as another attempt to silence civil society, vowing it would, quote, outlive the Putin regime and someday resume its work in Russia.

Charles Baines, NPR News, Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said contacts between Russia and France were operating at a technical level for now, but suggested talks between heads of state could be arranged in short order.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who enjoyed good relations with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin before the war in Ukraine, has argued for a resumption of dialogue, lest Europe be cut out of ongoing U.S.-Russian peace negotiations over Ukraine that impact Europe's future.

French re-engagement began earlier this month when Macron dispatched a senior advisor to Moscow.

When asked by journalists what he'd learned from his envoy's visit, Macron responded, confirmation that Russia doesn't want peace right now.

Charles Baines, NPR News, Moscow.

In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry called the Trump administration's pretext for attacking Venezuela unfounded and said the U.S.