Russia and Ukraine traded blame on Sunday for violating a one-day Easter ceasefire declared by President Putin, each accusing the other of carrying out hundreds of attacks. The Kremlin said no extension had been ordered.
Putin, who sent thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022, ordered his forces to stop all military activity along the front line in the three-year-old war until midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT) on Sunday.
TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying there was no order from Putin to extend the ceasefire.
“There were no other commands,” Peskov was quoted as saying when asked if it could be prolonged.
In Washington, the State Department said it would welcome an extension.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Moscow’s actions in coming days “will reveal Russia’s true attitude toward U.S. peace efforts” and a proposed 30-day ceasefire.
Russia Accused Of Pretense
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was pretending to observe the Easter ceasefire, but had carried out hundreds of artillery attacks on Saturday night, and more on Sunday.
Russia launched 67 assaults from midnight until 8 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“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 favourable PR coverage,” Zelenskyy posted.
“However, there were no air raid alerts today. Hence, this is a format of ceasefire that has been achieved and that is the easiest to extend,” he said, proposing that Russia abandon drone and missile strikes on civilian targets for at least 30 days.
If Russia does not agree, it will be proof that it intends to continue doing only those things that destroy human lives and prolong the war, Zelenskyy added.
Russia’s Counter
Russia’s Defence Ministry said Ukraine had broken the ceasefire more than 1,000 times, damaging infrastructure and causing civilian deaths.
The ministry said Ukrainian forces had shot at Russian positions 444 times and said it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks, including on Crimea and the Russian border areas of the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions.
“As a result, there are deaths and injuries among the civilian population, as well as damage to civilian facilities,” the ministry said.
Decreased Frontline Activity
Ukraine’s military said earlier that activity on the front line had decreased. Some Russian military bloggers also said frontline activity had declined substantially.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the battlefield reports.
The apparent failure to observe even an Easter ceasefire shows how hard it will be for U.S. President Donald Trump to clinch a lasting peace deal. The president still struck an optimistic note Sunday, saying that “hopefully” the two sides would make a deal “this week” to end the conflict.
On Friday, Trump and his secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the U.S. would walk away from peace efforts unless there are clear signs of progress soon.
Trump’s Peace Push
Last month, after Ukraine accepted Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, Putin said crucial issues of verification had not been sorted out. Both Moscow and Kyiv agreed to a moratorium on attacks on energy targets and at sea, which each accuses the other of breaking.
Zelenskyy reiterated that Kyiv was willing to extend the ceasefire for 30 days, but said that if Russia kept fighting on Sunday, so would Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian army is acting – and will continue to act – in a fully symmetrical manner,” he wrote on X.
Trump has pitched any end to the fighting as a precursor to both countries doing “BIG BUSINESS” with the United States, he said Sunday, saying that such deals would earn both nations “a fortune”.
Washington and Kyiv are currently negotiating a minerals deal that is expected to be finalized in the next week, Ukrainian officials have said, while American officials are looking at ways to ease sanctions on Russia’s energy sector if Moscow agrees to end the war, Reuters has previously reported.
‘Blatant Lie’
There was little such optimism from Ukrainian soldiers who spoke to Reuters on Sunday.
“There is no indication of a ceasefire,” said Dmytro, 24, from 93rd Kholodnyi Yar separate mechanised brigade.
Serhii, 22, a soldier from the same brigade, said the ceasefire “was announced only to show to the world as if they are making some steps, concessions for us. But in reality, as we can see at the frontline, nothing has changed. I think it is blatant lie as it always was.”
Respond ‘in Full’
Putin told his top general, Valery Gerasimov, to be ready to respond “in full” if Kyiv broke the truce.
Announcing the ceasefire before heading to an Orthodox Easter service, Putin said the truce would show whether or not Ukraine was ready or able to implement peace.
Easter falls on the same day this year for Orthodox and Western churches, and Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians not to give up hope that peace will one day return.
“We know what we are defending. We know what we are fighting for,” he said in a social media video, wearing a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt and standing in front of Saint Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv.
(With inputs from Reuters)
