CNN
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Ukraine has accused Russia of breaching the Easter truce that was announced without prior warning by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Putin of solely being interested by PR.
In a shock transfer on Saturday, Putin stated he had ordered his forces to “cease all army exercise” from 6 p.m. Moscow time that day (11 a.m. ET) till midnight Sunday into Monday (5 p.m. Sunday ET).
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated Sunday that Putin wouldn’t lengthen the ceasefire past the beforehand introduced timeframe, based on the Russian state information company TASS.
Ukrainian leaders stated that whereas there was some slowdown in combating in a single day, the variety of assaults performed by Russia started to rise once more as Sunday wore on. In the meantime, the Russian Ministry of Protection accused Ukraine of breaching the ceasefire.
Putin’s announcement was met with instant skepticism from Ukraine, though Kyiv agreed to the 30-hour truce; there have been no pauses in combating since Russia launched its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Questions had been raised over Putin’s motives in calling the temporary halt to hostilities, which got here simply after the Trump administration threatened to desert peace efforts with out tangible indicators of progress. Russia has beforehand rejected a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire that was agreed to by Ukraine.
Putin’s truce got here simply hours after the Russian army introduced that it had pushed Ukraine’s troops out of one in all their final remaining footholds within the southern Russian area of Kursk.
Zelensky stated Ukraine’s army had recorded a rise in Russian shelling and the usage of drones since 10 a.m. native time Sunday (3 a.m. ET).
“In follow, both Putin doesn’t have full management over his military, or the state of affairs proves that in Russia, they don’t have any intention of creating a real transfer towards ending the battle, and are solely interested by favorable PR protection,” he stated.
“This Easter proved unequivocally that Russia is the one supply of the battle and the rationale for its prolongation. We’re prepared to maneuver in the direction of peace and a full, unconditional and truthful ceasefire that may final a minimum of 30 days, however Russia has not but responded to this,” Zelensky added later.
Ukraine’s 66th mechanized brigade, which is at present positioned close to Lyman within the japanese Ukrainian Donetsk area, stated it believed Russia was utilizing the ceasefire to arrange roads for heavy army tools within the space. The brigade stated {that a} blown-up piece of apparatus that had been blocking an necessary river crossing since early April was cleared on Sunday, as Russian troops took benefit of the pause in firing.
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