Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Kremlin forces of violating a 30-hour Easter Sunday truce declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and reiterated his proposal to extend the ceasefire for another month.
Russia was trying to create “the general impression of a ceasefire, while in some areas still continuing isolated attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said on social media.
He cited 59 cases of shelling and five assault actions by Russian units in various frontline areas on Sunday morning, based on a report from Armed Forces commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
In Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv’s troops have mostly been forced back over the past month, Moscow’s forces conducted artillery strikes and used drones, Zelenskiy said. The claims couldn’t be independently verified and Russia hasn’t commented.
Still, neither side reported any of the kind of missile attacks or large-scale drone swarms that have taken place regularly in the war, which is now well into its fourth year.
“Our soldiers everywhere respond in the way the enemy deserves in specific combat circumstances,” Zelenskiy said in his post. “Ukraine will continue to mirror Russian actions.”
Putin ordered the pause in hostilities, lasting little more than a day, during a televised meeting on Saturday with the military’s chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov. The truce is due to end at midnight Moscow time.
Zelenskiy dismissed the pronouncement as “yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives.” Even as the Russian leader spoke, air raid alerts were spreading across Ukraine, with attack drones detected in the skies, he said on X.
“If a complete ceasefire truly takes hold, Ukraine proposes extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20,” he wrote. “That is what will reveal Russia’s true intentions – because 30 hours is enough to make headlines, but not for genuine confidence-building measures. Thirty days could give peace a chance.”
Putin’s move came a day after the US warned that it may soon abandon efforts led by President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine if there isn’t meaningful progress toward a ceasefire.
Trump, who on the campaign trail vowed that he could quickly end the war, has expressed increasing frustration with the pace of negotiations with Putin. Still, he’s shown determination to get a deal done within 100 days of his 20 January inauguration, which falls on 30 April.
The US is open to recognising Crimea – which Russia has occupied since 2014 – as part of Russia under a peace agreement with Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. A US framework presented to allies on Thursday included easing sanctions on Moscow in the event of a lasting ceasefire.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Saturday said his country has already agreed “unconditionally” to the US proposal for a “full interim ceasefire for 30 days.” In contrast, Russia has “imposed various conditions and increased terror against Ukraine, civilians, and civilian infrastructure throughout the country,” Sybiha said on X.
Russia has tied its agreement to a cessation of hostilities to sanctions relief and a suspension of arms deliveries to Ukraine, among other things.
The past few weeks have seen a pair of especially deadly Russian missile attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine, including on Kryvih Rih, Zelenskiy’s home town, and the northeastern city of Sumy.
At the same time, Russian troops, which control about 20% of Ukraine, continue to inch forward on the battlefield. Moscow said Saturday it ejected Ukrainian forces from a village in the Russian region of Kursk; Gerasimov said Saturday that Russia has recovered 99.5% of territory that Kyiv’s troops at one point held in Kursk.
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine each swapped 246 prisoners of war each on Saturday, and Russia also set free 31 wounded Ukrainian soldiers in return for 15 Russian troops needing urgent medical care, according to Russia’s defense ministry. The exchange, brokered by the United Arab Emirates, was the latest such deal that’s seen several thousand soldiers released.