Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday blamed Russia for breaking a temporary truce more than 2,000 times during the Easter weekend, even after Russian President Vladimir Putin had declared a truce. The truce, which was to be in place from Saturday to Sunday midnight, was intended to be a temporary humanitarian break from the fighting.
In a tweet posted on X, Zelensky penned, “As of now, since the start of the day, the Russian army has broken Putin’s ceasefire over two thousand times. There have already been 67 Russian attacks on our positions in different directions, with the largest number in the Pokrovsk direction. There were 1,355 instances of Russian shelling, including 713 involving heavy weapons. The Russians also employed FPVs 673 times.”
He further indicated that there had been no air raid warnings all day, in spite of the magnitude of breaches.
Zelensky suggests 30-day truce from Easter
In the midst of the allegations, President Zelensky offered a peace olive branch by suggesting an extended ceasefire. He said both parties should desist from conducting long-range drone and missile strikes on civilian targets for a period of at least 30 days, with the possibility of extending the ceasefire.
In a statement, Zelensky pointed out that if Russia turns down this offer, it would show Moscow’s will to keep “doing only those things which destroy human lives and prolong the war.”
Putin’s brief Easter ceasefire tainted by recriminations
President Vladimir Putin had previously announced a 30-hour Easter ceasefire for “humanitarian reasons.” Although Kyiv initially consented to the ceasefire and even offered to extend it, Moscow subsequently refused to extend the truce.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov affirmed that Putin had issued no order for an extension of the agreed timeframe. The ceasefire was punctuated by both nations accusing the other of violations.
Moscow’s defense ministry asserted that in defiance of the ceasefire, “Ukrainian units at night made attempts to attack” Russian positions in the Donetsk area. The ministry asserted that Russian troops had “strictly observed the ceasefire.
US engagement and the wider context of war
The short-lived ceasefire move came as ex-US President Donald Trump keeps up pressure for a lasting end to the war. Nonetheless, Trump has recently threatened that the US could withdraw from peace talks if there is no rapid progress.
The Russian-Ukrainian war started in February 2022 when Moscow invaded Ukraine fully. The country has since taken over about 20 percent of Ukrainian land, and the war continues to show no signs of a respite despite persistent diplomatic attempts.
