Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of breaking one-day Easter ceasefire

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 20, 2025 9:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Russia and Ukraine blamed each different connected Sunday for breaking a one-day Easter ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with each broadside accusing the different of carrying retired hundreds of attacks.

Putin, who ordered thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine successful February 2022, ordered Russian forces to "stop each subject activity" on the beforehand enactment of the warfare until midnight Moscow clip connected Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was pretending to observe the Easter ceasefire, but had successful information continued hundreds of artillery attacks connected Saturday night, with much assaults connected Sunday.

Zelenskyy wrote connected the X societal media level that Russia had launched 26 assaults from midnight until midday section time.

"Either Putin does not person afloat power implicit his army, oregon the concern proves that successful Russia, they person nary volition of making a genuine determination toward ending the war, and are lone funny successful favourable PR coverage," Zelenskyy's station said.

'General content of a ceasefire'

Earlier, helium said the Russian service "is trying to make a wide content of a ceasefire," portion continuing to inflict losses connected Ukraine's beforehand line.

Russia's Defence Ministry said Ukraine had breached the ceasefire much than 1,000 times, inflicting harm to infrastructure and causing immoderate civilian deaths.

The ministry said Ukrainian forces had changeable astatine Russian positions 444 times, and it had counted much than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks, including connected Crimea and connected the Russian borderline regions of Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod.

"As a result, determination are deaths and injuries among the civilian population, arsenic good arsenic harm to civilian facilities," the ministry said.

Ukraine's subject said earlier connected Sunday that enactment connected the beforehand enactment had decreased. Some Russian subject bloggers besides said subject enactment on the frontline has substantially decreased.

Reuters was incapable to instantly verify the battlefield reports from either side.

The evident nonaccomplishment to observe an Easter ceasefire shows conscionable however hard it volition beryllium for U.S. President Donald Trump to execute his purpose of clinching a lasting woody to extremity what helium calls the "bloodbath" of the warfare successful Ukraine.

The U.S. volition locomotion distant from efforts to broker a bid woody unless determination are wide signs of advancement soon, Trump and his caput of state, Marco Rubio, said connected Friday.

Trump, who says helium wants to beryllium remembered arsenic a peacemaker, has repeatedly warned of the escalation hazard of the warfare — which his medication present casts arsenic a proxy struggle betwixt the U.S. and Russia, echoing Moscow's stance.

Last month, aft Ukraine accepted Trump's connection for a 30-day truce, Putin said important issues of verification had not been sorted out. Both Moscow and Kyiv person agreed to a moratorium connected attacks connected vigor targets and astatine sea, which each accuses the different of breaking.

WATCH | Ukraine agrees to 30-day ceasefire with Russia:

Zelenskyy reiterated that Kyiv was consenting to widen the ceasefire for 30 days but said that if Russia kept warring connected Sunday, truthful would Ukraine.

Putin told his apical general, Valery Gerasimov, to beryllium acceptable to respond "in full" if Kyiv broke the truce.

Russia controls conscionable nether one-fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, which Moscow annexed successful 2014, and the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.

Putin, erstwhile announcing the ceasefire earlier heading to an Orthodox Easter service, said the truce would amusement whether oregon not Ukraine was acceptable oregon capable to instrumentality peace. Putin thanked Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders from the BRICS radical of emerging economies for attempts to mediate.

The European Union reacted cautiously to Putin's ceasefire declaration, saying Moscow could halt the warfare instantly if it wanted to.

United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reiterated UN support "for meaningful efforts toward a just, lasting and broad bid that afloat upholds Ukraine's sovereignty, independency and territorial integrity."

Easter falls connected the aforesaid time this twelvemonth for Orthodox and Western churches, and Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians not to springiness up anticipation that bid volition 1 time return.

"We cognize what we are defending. We cognize what we are warring for," helium said successful a societal media video, wearing a accepted Ukrainian embroidered garment and lasting successful beforehand of Kyiv's main church, Saint Sophia Cathedral.