Kyiv, Ukraine (AP)-The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Sunday to create a false appearance of honoring a cease-fire in Easter, saying that Moscow continued to launch attacks after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a unilateral temporary truce.
Find out more: Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds of prisoners of war while Putin announces the ceasefire of Easter
“In Easter in the morning, we can say that the Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a fire, but in certain places, it does not give up individual attempts to advance and inflict losses in Ukraine,” said Zelenskyy in an article on X.
Despite Putin’s statement of a Easter ceasefire, Zelenskyy said on Sunday morning that Ukrainian forces had recorded 59 cases of Russian bombing and five assaults by units along the front line, as well as dozens of drone strikes.
In subsequent updates, Zelenskyy said that despite Ukraine declaring a symmetrical approach to Russian actions, “the trend to increase the use of heavy weapons by Russian forces continues.” He said, however, that it was “a good thing, at least, that there were no air raid sirens”.
He noted that some Ukrainian troops had been killed on Sunday in a Russian “ambush” in the Donetsk region, and said that responsible Russian soldiers would be “eliminated”.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of nights in the Donetsk region despite the ceasefire. He said Ukraine had sent 48 drones to Russian territory. According to the ministry, there was “dead and injured among the civilian population”, without giving details. He said Russian troops had strictly observed the truce.
Russia officials in the partially occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson also said that Ukrainian forces had launched attacks.
Zelenskyy said Russia must fully adhere to the cease-fire conditions and reiterated Ukraine’s offer to extend the truce for 30 days at the end of Sunday. The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, said that Moscow had not responded to kyiv’s proposal.
“In practice, Putin does not have full control of her army, the situation proves that in Russia, they do not intend to make a real movement towards the end of the war and are only interested in the coverage of favorable public relations,” wrote Zelenskyy.
Only a few hours after announcing the ceasefire, Putin attended an Easter service on Saturday evening at Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior led by Patriarch Kirill, chief of the Russian Orthodox Church and a vocal supporter of Putin and the war in Ukraine.
Putin did not offer any details on how the ceasefire would be monitored or if it would cover the air strikes or the current ground battles which are raging 24 hours a day.
His announcement came after US President Donald Trump said on Friday that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia “came to the head” and insisted that no game “plays” in his push to end the three -year war.
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