Zelensky says Ukraine will observe Easter truce, accuses Russia of breaches

Medics providing treatment to an injured Ukrainian serviceman, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on April 17. PHOTO: REUTERS

Zelensky says Ukraine will observe Easter truce, accuses Russia of breaches

KYIV - Ukraine will abide by an Easter truce, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, hours after Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to pause all combat activity until 2100 GMT on April 20 (5am on April 21 in Singapore).

“If Russia is now suddenly ready to truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly – mirroring Russia’s actions,” Mr Zelensky said on April 19, in a post on X.

He proposed “extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20.”

But the Ukrainian leader also accused Russia of having already broken its promises.

“Russian assault operations continue on several front-line sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided,” he said.

Ukraine’s Kherson governor reported several Russian drone attacks after Mr Putin’s order was supposed to have come into force at 6pm.

Ukraine’s air force issue air-raid warnings across several regions in eastern Ukraine on April 19 evening, also while the ceasefire was supposed to be in effect.

Ukraine’s air force said on social media there was a “ballistic missile threat” and official air-raid maps indicated alerts issued for the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

“Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow,” Mr Zelensky said.

“We know all too well how Moscow manipulates, and we are prepared for anything. Ukraine’s Defence Forces will act rationally – responding in kind. Every Russian strike will be met with an appropriate response,” he added.

Mr Putin made the surprise announcement of an Easter truce, set to last until midnight on April 20 (Moscow time), having in March rejected a US proposal for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.

US Donald Trump is pushing to end the three-year war, but on April 18 threatened to ditch his efforts to broker a ceasefire if he did not see meaningful progress soon.

Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after the two sides failed to agree on them. AFP

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