“On the eve of Easter, extensive work is underway this Thursday to prepare for prisoner exchanges,” Moskalkova told the press.

She added that an agreement has also been reached with the Ukrainian side before Easter to “do everything possible so that the prisoners of war can also experience this holiday.”

“The prisoners of war are Orthodox.

In both Russia and Ukraine, the prisoners of war will receive kulich (a traditional Russian Orthodox bread) and will have the opportunity to meet with a priest,” she added.

This prisoner exchange will take place without a ceasefire agreement for the celebration of the Orthodox religious holiday.

The day before, the Russian Foreign Ministry questioned Kiev’s reliability regarding ceasefires after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s remarks about a ceasefire for Easter. For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow sees “no clearly formulated initiative for an Easter ceasefire” in Zelenskyy’s statements.

He also noted that Kiev needs a ceasefire due to the advance of the Russian special military operation.

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a truce during the Easter holidays (April 19-20).

However, at the end of that period, the Russian Defense Ministry reported 4,900 violations by Ukrainian troops.

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