Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of violating the “Easter Certain Fire” announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that the Ukrainian president was being violated from the moment it started.
In a surprising announcement on Saturday, Putin ordered his troops to “stop all military activities” along the frontline in the war with Ukraine, citing humanitarian reasons. The 30-hour suspension of hostilities would have been the most important suspension in combat throughout the three-year conflict.
However, hours after the order came into effect, air sirens rang out in Kiev and several other Ukrainian regions, and the Russian president accused Russia of maintaining the attack and engaging in PR stunts.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Ukraine had broken the truce more than 1,000 times on Sunday.
“There were 59 Russian artillery fires and five attacks by Russian units across various frontline directions,” Zelensky said on social media, citing a report from Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Silsky at 6am (03:00 GMT).
He said that six hours until midnight (21:00 GMT on Saturday) there will be “387 instances of Russian artillery fire and 19 attacks” and “used 290 times by the Russians.”
“Overall, as of Easter morning, the Russian troops can be said to be trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some regions, they continue to have isolated attempts to advance and promote Ukraine’s losses,” Zelensky said.
“In reality, President Putin has no complete control over his army or proves that in Russia he has no intention of making a genuine move to end the war, and is only interested in reporting positive PR,” he added.
According to the Kremlin, the fighting stopped at 6pm (15:00 GMT) on Saturday for Easter until midnight on Sunday (21:00 GMT).
However, when church bells rang for Easter Services on Sunday, Kiev residents expressed doubt whether Russia would observe a short ceasefire.
Natalia Malaieva pointed out that at the moment of Kyiv, the air raid warnings were heard.
“The missiles and drones flew around. There was an explosion from the missiles,” she said. “What kind of ceasefire is that?”
Olha Malashuk added: [Putin] Perhaps you want to chase the army… so no one believes him anymore. ”
Accusations and counterargument
In a statement on social media on Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces shot Russia’s position 444 times, counting more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks.
It added that the border areas of Briance, Kursk and Belgorod had been under attack. “The result was deaths and injuries among civilians, and damages for civilian purposes,” the ministry said.
Tas, a Russian news agency, said at least three explosions were heard in Budennovsky district of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, citing sources of “operational services.”
The report accused Ukrainian forces of saying it was an attack that took place during a ceasefire. There were no immediate comments from Ukraine.
A Ukrainian military spokesman confirmed that frontline activity with Russia had declined, but combat had not stopped.
“It’s diminishing, but it’s not disappearing,” Victor Trevbov told national television.
“To be honest, I didn’t really want much hope for this to happen,” said a military spokesman for Ukraine’s Eastern Front.
In a report from Moscow, Al Jazeera’s Julia Shapovarova said that both sides are denounced against each other, but analysts say it’s almost impossible to stop all hostility right away. However, in general, the battlefield situation is much more mild and the number of attacks is decreasing.
“Russia’s response to this ceasefire is very positive,” she added.
“People hope that continues, and analysts also say that Russia and Putin are likely to be in a favorable position for the moment for a longer truce and peace negotiations, given Russian interests on the battlefield and US efforts,” Shapovalova said.
“Pure political steps”
Former Russian vice minister Andrei Fedorov called Putin’s announcement a “pure political step” and said it was taken for both domestic and international reasons.
“Easter is one of Russia’s major holidays and President Putin wants to show that he follows the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church,” he told Al Jazeera.
“At the same time, whether Ukraine will do the same is a very important test for him, because when there is a new lecture in Ukraine, [and] It is very important that Putin has a real argument saying, “Look, Ukraine has not followed the agreement.” Ukraine is breaking a ceasefire. ”
Putin’s announcement came the day after President Donald Trump said “washington would “take a pass” to try to resolve the Russian-Ukraine war if either Moscow or Kiev was too difficult to finish it.
In a report from Washington, D.C., Al Jazeera’s Rosalind Jordan said neither side could afford to anger the Trump administration at the moment.
“Especially now, they’re saying so publicly in Washington that they’re ready to leave despite repeatedly saying that President Trump is tired of what’s called “genocide” in the war between Ukraine and Russia,” she said.
However, there was no response from the Trump administration to the development of the Ukrainian war this weekend.
Vladimir Sotnikov, an associate professor of international relations at a Moscow high school, said he fears Trump will “dive” into a peace plan that “will not work out in the near future.”
“Both sides – Ukraine and Russia are still very far from sitting at the table and trying to talk to each other,” Snikov told Al Jazeera.
“This was also a promised by President Trump,” he said. “But the main problem is that both sides still have deep distrust of each other.”
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