Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of breaking Easter ceasefire, no extension seen
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A military chaplain holding a service for a crew sitting on a tank near the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia area.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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KYIV - Russia and Ukraine blamed each other on April 20 for breaking a one-day Easter ceasefire declared by President Vladimir Putin, with both sides accusing the other of hundreds of attacks and the Kremlin saying there was no order for an extension.
Mr Putin, who sent thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022, ordered his forces to stop all military activity
Five hours before that expiry, Tass news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying there was no order from Mr Putin to extend the ceasefire. “There were no other commands,” Mr Peskov was quoted as saying when asked if it could be prolonged.
In Washington, the State Department said it would welcome an extension of the ceasefire.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Moscow’s actions in coming days “will reveal Russia’s true attitude toward US peace efforts and the 30-day full ceasefire proposal”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was pretending to observe the Easter ceasefire
Russia launched 67 assaults from midnight until 8pm local time, Mr Zelensky 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,” Mr Zelensky 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, he added.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said Ukraine had broken the ceasefire more than 1,000 times, inflicting damage to infrastructure and causing some civilian deaths.
The ministry said Ukrainian forces had shot at Russian positions 444 times while it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks, including attacks 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.
Military chaplain Oleksandr Karapetian conducts the Easter service for service members near a front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Ukraine’s military said earlier on April 20 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 from either side.
The apparent failure to observe even an Easter ceasefire shows how hard it will be for US President Donald Trump to clinch a lasting peace deal. The president still struck an optimistic note on April 20, saying that “hopefully” the two sides would make a deal “this week” to end the conflict.
On April 18, Mr Trump and his secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the US would walk away from peace efforts unless there are clear signs of progress soon
Trump’s peace push
Last month, after Ukraine accepted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, Mr 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.
Mr Zelensky 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.
Mr Trump has pitched any end to the fighting as a precursor to both countries doing “BIG BUSINESS” with the United States, he said on April 20, saying that such deals would earn both nations “a fortune.”
Washington and Kyiv are currently negotiating a minerals deal that is expected to be finalised 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.
There was little such optimism from Ukrainian soldiers who spoke to Reuters on April 20.
“There is no indication of a ceasefire,” said Mr Dmytro, 24, from 93rd Kholodnyi Yar separate mechanised brigade.
Mr 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 front line, nothing has changed. I think it is blatant lie as it always was.”
Mr 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, Mr 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 Mr Zelensky 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. REUTERS
