KYIV: A temporary truce between Russia and Ukraine entered into force on Saturday (Apr 11), with Kyiv warning it would respond "immediately" if Russia violated it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the ceasefire on Thursday to coincide with Orthodox Easter, more than a week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy first made the proposal.

Both sides have agreed to observe it.

The ceasefire is due to last for 32 hours, from 4pm (9pm, Singapore time) on Saturday until the end of the day on Sunday, according to the Kremlin.

"Ukraine will adhere to the ceasefire and respond strictly in kind. The absence of Russian strikes in the air, on land, and at sea will mean no response from our side," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

The Ukrainian army said it was ready to "immediately" respond if Russia violated it.

Hours before the truce was due to start, Russia launched at least 160 drones at Ukraine, killing four people in the country's east and south and wounding dozens of others, Ukrainian authorities said.

The southern Odesa region was among the hardest hit, with authorities reporting two dead and damage to civilian infrastructure.

A wave of Ukrainian drones sparked a fire at an oil depot and damaged apartment buildings in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, authorities said.

Four people died in Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Kherson regions, according to Russian-installed officials.

Ukrainians have expressed scepticism about whether the truce will hold.

The two sides held a ceasefire...