On this photograph supplied by Ukraine’s 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a ruined metropolis heart in Kostyantynivka, the location of heavy battles with Russian troops, within the Donetsk area, Ukraine, Saturday, April 19, 2025.
Iryna Rybakova/Ukrainian 93rd Mechanized brigade
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Iryna Rybakova/Ukrainian 93rd Mechanized brigade
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Sunday of making a false look of honoring an Easter ceasefire, saying Moscow continued to launch assaults after Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced a unilateral momentary truce.
“As of Easter morning, we can say that the Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places, it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine,” Zelenskyy mentioned in a submit on X.
Regardless of Putin’s declaration of an Easter ceasefire on Saturday, Zelenskyy mentioned Sunday morning that Ukrainian forces had recorded 59 situations of Russian shelling and 5 assaults by models alongside the entrance line, in addition to dozens of drone strikes.
In a later replace, Zelenskyy mentioned that regardless of Ukraine declaring a symmetrical method to Russian actions, there had been a rise in Russian shelling and drone assaults since 10 a.m (0700 GMT). He mentioned, nevertheless, that it was “a good thing, at least, that there were no air raid sirens.”
“In practice, either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favorable PR coverage,” he wrote.
Zelenskyy mentioned that Russia should absolutely adhere to the ceasefire circumstances and reiterated Ukraine’s provide to increase the truce for 30 days, beginning midnight Sunday. He mentioned the proposal “remains on the table” and added: “We will act in accordance with the actual situation on the ground.”
Zelenskyy mentioned Saturday night time that some areas have been quieter because the ceasefire was introduced, which he claimed confirmed Putin to be the “true cause” of the warfare. “As soon as Putin gave an order to scale back the attacks, the intensity of strikes and killings dropped. The only source of this war and its prolongation is in Russia,” he wrote on X.
Russia’s Protection Ministry mentioned Sunday that Ukrainian forces launched in a single day assaults within the Donetsk area regardless of the ceasefire, and had despatched 48 drones into Russian territory. In response to the ministry, there have been “dead and wounded among the civilian population,” with out giving particulars. It claimed Russian troops had strictly noticed the ceasefire.
Russia-installed officers within the partially occupied Ukrainian area of Kherson additionally mentioned that Ukrainian forces continued their assaults.
Simply hours after asserting the ceasefire, Putin attended an Easter service late Saturday at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour led by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a vocal supporter of Putin and the warfare in Ukraine.
In response to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will final from 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday to midnight (2100 GMT) following Easter Sunday.
Putin supplied no particulars on how the ceasefire can be monitored or whether or not it could cowl airstrikes or ongoing floor battles that rage across the clock.
His announcement got here after U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned Friday that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither facet is “playing” him in his push to finish the grinding three-year warfare.
