Hello, and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service, coming to you live from London.
I'm James Kamarasami.
A 30-day, not a 30-hour ceasefire.
That is what a sceptical President Zelensky said this evening would be a genuine confidence-building time frame after President Putin unexpectedly announced
that Russia would be unilaterally ceasing all military hostilities in Ukraine over the Easter weekend.
He said that he was doing this out of humanitarian considerations.
Well,
it's not the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began three years ago
that the Russian leader has announced a pause over a holiday period,
and it comes a day after a frustrated-sounding Donald Trump effectively threatened to walk away from peace negotiations.
We can speak to the BBC's Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse,
who joins me now from Odessa in the south of the country.
So, James,
we've had reports
since this ceasefire was due to come in of alarm sirens in Kiev from where you are.
What is the view?
What is this ceasefire holding?
It's difficult, as you can imagine, James.
I mean, as far as President Zelensky is concerned,
he says his generals are reporting continued artillery fire and small advances by Russian troops across the eastern front line.