Russian Easter truce failed, Ukraine proposes new format - Weekend brief
RBC-Ukraine collage
Despite the Kremlin's promise of an Easter truce, Russia launched more than 2,000 attacks on Ukrainian positions over a day. Amid the breakdown of the ceasefire, Ukraine proposed a new format of silence.
Read more about what happened over the weekend.
Putin's 'Easter truce'
On April 19, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the “Easter truce,” which was supposed to last from 6 p.m. on April 19 to midnight on April 21.
However, the Russian side set a condition under which it would observe silence.
Despite the ceasefire, the fighting did not stop. A high-rise building caught fire in Kherson around 6 p.m. as a result of a drone strike. And the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, reported shelling in the east of the country.
Ukrainian authorities were immediately skeptical of Putin's statements. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that what matters to Ukraine are not words but concrete actions on the part of Russia, while Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reminded that back in March, Ukraine agreed to a US proposal for a complete 30-day ceasefire, which Russia rejected.
Read more about Russia's proposal and Ukraine's reaction in RBC-Ukraine's article.
Zelenskyy proposes new ceasefire format
According to Zelenskyy, as of 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 20, the Russians have violated the ceasefire more than 2,000 times since the beginning of the day.
Against this backdrop, the Ukrainian president proposed a new truce format.
Shortly before that, the Russian leader's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that there were no plans to extend the Easter truce.
The United States expressed support for a potential extension of the ceasefire in Ukraine after Easter.
Ukraine, Russia conduct major prisoner exchange ahead of Easter holiday
Ukraine brought home 277 soldiers.
Among those released from Russian captivity were soldiers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, the State Transport Special Service, and border guards. They had defended Mariupol and other areas in the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War clarified that most of those freed are young people born after the year 2000.
Fox News broadcast Easter from Moscow and made Kyiv 'Russian'
American broadcaster Fox News aired an Easter service from Moscow featuring Putin. Later, it labeled Kyiv as part of Russia.
At first, the video was labeled correctly: “Easter service: Kyiv, Ukraine.”
However, after a break in the broadcast, Fox News resumed the coverage with a caption that read: “Easter service: Kyiv, Russia.”
Ukraine demands apology over Fox News misidentifying Kyiv as Russian city.
China tests non-nuclear hydrogen bomb, unleashing 1,000°C fireball
Chinese scientists have tested a hydrogen-based explosive device that produces a fireball with temperatures exceeding 1,000°C. The explosion lasts 15 times longer than a standard TNT blast.
According to a study published last month, Chinese researchers successfully detonated a hydrogen-based device during a controlled field test. They triggered a powerful chemical chain reaction without using any nuclear materials.
