Putin accused of breaching own truce as brief pause to fighting in Ukraine ends

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - KYIV — Ukraine 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 only being interested in PR.

In a surprise move on Saturday, Putin said he had ordered his forces to “stop all military activity” from 6 p.m. Moscow time that day (11 a.m. ET) until midnight Sunday into Monday (5 p.m. Sunday ET).

Ukrainian officials urged Russia to extend the truce. However, the expiration time came with no mention of an extension from Russia.

Earlier on Sunday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Putin had not given a command to extend the brief Easter ceasefire beyond the previously announced timeframe, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.

Ukrainian leaders said that while there was some slowdown in fighting overnight, the number of attacks conducted by Russia began to rise again as Sunday wore on. Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of breaching the ceasefire.

Putin’s announcement was met with immediate skepticism from Ukraine, although Kyiv agreed to the 30-hour truce; there have been no pauses in fighting since Russia launched its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Questions were raised over Putin’s motives in calling the brief halt to hostilities, which came just after the Trump administration threatened to abandon peace efforts without tangible signs of progress. Russia has previously rejected a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire that was agreed to by Ukraine.

On Sunday, Trump said that “hopefully” Russia and Ukraine would strike an agreement. He didn’t specify what type of deal might be made between the two warring nations.

Putin’s truce came just hours after the Russian military announced that it had pushed Ukraine’s troops out of one of their last remaining footholds in the southern Russian region of Kursk.

Zelensky said Ukraine’s military had recorded an increase in Russian shelling and the use of drones since 10 a.m. local time Sunday (3 a.m. ET).

“In practice, either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favorable PR coverage,” he said.

“This Easter proved unequivocally that Russia is the only source of the war and the reason for its prolongation. We are ready to move towards peace and a full, unconditional and fair ceasefire that can last at least 30 days, but Russia has not yet responded to this,” Zelensky added later.

Ukraine’s 66th mechanized brigade, which is currently positioned near Lyman in the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk region, said it believed Russia was using the ceasefire to set up roads for heavy military equipment in the area. The brigade said that a blown-up piece of equipment that had been blocking an important river crossing since early April was cleared on Sunday, as Russian troops took advantage of the pause in firing.

Earlier on Sunday, the Ukrainian leader said that while there were 387 instances of shelling and 19 assaults by Russia overnight, the Russian army was “attempting to create the general impression of a ceasefire, while in some areas still continuing isolated attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine.”

However, by mid-afternoon, Zelensky cited a report from Ukraine’s Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who said the use of heavy weapons by Russian troops was increasing.

“Between the beginning of the day and 4 p.m., a total of 46 Russian assault actions in various directions and 901 attacks took place, and of this number, 448 were made with heavy weapons. More than four hundred uses of (drones) by Russians have already been recorded,” Zelensky said.

In Russia’s Kursk region – the scene of a shock Ukrainian incursion last year – Moscow’s forces conducted artillery strikes and used drones, he added.

“Everywhere our warriors are responding as the enemy deserves, based on the specific combat situation. Ukraine will continue to act symmetrically,” Zelensky said.

Ukrainian troops deployed in the Sumy region told CNN that Russian units did not stop advancing during the ceasefire there. Troops deployed in Pokrovsk and near Kupiansk told CNN that Russian forces appeared to use the ceasefire to build up their presence.

For its part, Russia’s defense ministry said Sunday that its forces had been “strictly observing” the ceasefire since 6 p.m. on Saturday evening, and accused Ukraine of violating the pause in fighting over 1,000 times.

The ministry said that Ukrainian units had shot at Russian positions 444 times during the night, carried out over 900 drone attacks and used 48 plane-type UAVs.

“As a result, there were deaths and injuries among the civilian population and damage to civilian objects,” a statement from the ministry claimed.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also accused Ukraine of using US-supplied HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems to carry out strikes on Russia.

The Ukrainian leader has called for the ceasefire to be extended to 30 days, in line with a US-led proposal last month that Russia rejected. On Sunday morning, he reiterated that the proposal still stands, despite the accusations of repeated violations.

Ukraine proposed a stoppage on “any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure for a period of at least 30 days,” Zelensky said. “If Russia does not agree to such a step, it will be proof that it intends to continue doing only those things which destroy human lives and prolong the war,” he added.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces have stated that they will comply with orders to limit fire on Russia’s army, but would not show restraint if fired on first.

A commander on the ground warned Sunday: “Yesterday we were told to limit fire against the Russians. If they don’t assault or provoke us, we don’t fire. If they move or fire at us, we can answer.”

Putin said the ceasefire was on humanitarian grounds but added that his troops would respond to any “provocations.” — CNN