New Delhi, April 10 -- Russia on Friday announced a temporary 32-hour ceasefire with Ukraine on the occasion of Orthodox Easter, from April 11 to April 12, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The ceasefire will begin at 4 pm on Saturday and last till Sunday, officials said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued the directive to Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov on April 9, according to an official Kremlin statement.

The order, however, mandates that Russian troops remain prepared to "suppress possible provocations and any aggressive actions by the enemy," the statement added.

"We proceed from the assumption that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the ...