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.
Hands up anyone who’s surprised
Literally my first thought when I saw news about Putin’s truce proposal was “What kind of psychopath is gonna propose and break a truce on Easter?”