Russia violates its own Easter ceasefire over 2,000 times in a day, Zelenskyy says
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (president.gov.ua)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the Russian army has violated the Easter ceasefire declared by the Kremlin more than 2,000 times, launching dozens of assaults and over a thousand shellings.
Zelenskyy stated that as of 8:00 PM Kyiv time, the Russian army had violated the "Putin ceasefire" more than 2,000 times since the start of the day.
According to the President, there have already been:
- 67 Russian assaults on Ukrainian positions in various directions, with the highest number in the Pokrovsk direction;
- 1,355 Russian shellings, including 713 involving heavy weapons and 673 using FPV drones.
"In practice, across all main frontline directions, Russia has failed to uphold its own promise of the ceasefire. And almost an entire day wasn’t enough for Russia to respond to our Ukrainian proposal for a full ceasefire – starting now, from Easter, and lasting 30 days," Zelenskyy emphasized.
Putin’s Easter Ceasefire
On April 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared an Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, which was supposed to last for 30 hours, until midnight on Sunday.
The Russian president urged Ukraine to join the ceasefire, but at the same time, ordered Russian forces to be prepared for "provocations" from the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Ukrainian authorities responded to this initiative with skepticism.
For more details on the Russian proposal and Ukraine's reaction, read RBC-Ukraine's report.
Additionally, the US has expressed support for a potential continuation of the ceasefire after Easter.
However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that an extension of the Easter ceasefire is not planned.
