Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a 30-hour “Easter Certain Fire” over the weekend, slightly extending the one-month ceasefire for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which expired last Friday.
Long-range attacks between Russia and Ukraine were stopped during that period, but Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelenki proposed extending the armistice for at least 30 days.
Putin refused the offer and said that Zelenskyyy was not serious about a ceasefire that reflected Putin’s view of Zelenskyy.
“There were no air raid alerts in Easter, and some sectors on the frontline remained quiet. This has proven possible. When Russia chose to reduce killings.”
Ukraine, as an invader of war, has consistently maintained that Russia is best equipped to end it.
Russia did not respect its own Easter ceasefire on the ground, Zelensky said. “There have already been 67 Russian attacks on our position,” he wrote on social media on Sunday evening. “In fact, across all major frontline directions, Russia has failed to support the promise of a ceasefire.”
However, given the successful halt of the long-range attack, Zelenskyy said:
“The fighting has resumed,” Putin told journalists Monday.
“We’ve always had a positive attitude towards a ceasefire, so we came up with that kind of initiative,” he said. “A statement has been released, which was considered a game of people’s lives and destiny. Now we see that the Kiev administration is trying to grab the initiative and talk about expansion.”
Putin has accused Ukrainian forces of a 4,900 ceasefire “violation”. This revealed that unmanned aerial vehicles “attempt 90 attempts” had deployed them during the declared ceasefire by Russia.
Rearrangement of force
Anastasia Breischk, a spokesman for Ukraine’s 66th separate mechanized brigade, defended the eastern town of Lyman, saying that Russia did not stop the cannon attacks during its voluntary halt and further used it to reposition the power in its favor.
“We saw how they pulled infantry to the forefront along with weapons. These were RPGs and machine guns. During the so-called Easter closure, over 120 Russian occupiers said they were coming in with plantations, forest belts, destroyed buildings and bargains, and soon Easter was coming in. Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspern.
Commander Dennis Perch told Sasperne that Russian forces used the ceasefire to clear the river pontoons and other intersections separating Lyman from the location of damaged Russian vehicles in preparation for future attacks. “This pause was necessary to do so that they could carry out certain actions that would prevent us from going normally,” he said.
Viktor Tregubov, a spokesman for the eastern Khortytsia Group of Force, spoke to the wartime United News Teleson on Ukaine’s television channel. The Russian army said, “Operating under the nose. Strike.”
“Russia was not just a US proposal for a complete and unconditional ceasefire that took place more than a month ago during consultations in Jeddah, but also yesterday. It rejected the proposal to continue doing everything possible to maintain the ceasefire after Easter,” Zelensky said in a speech on Monday.
Ukraine is still trying to bridge its allies
In a statement last week, U.S. State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce said, “President Trump and the United States want to end this war and presented all parties with an overview of durable and enduring peace.
Bruce mentioned a separate meeting of Ukrainian delegations in Paris with US and European officials last week.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Swillidenko announced on April 17 that she had signed a statement of intent with the United States to conclude an agreement that Ukraine “will benefit both our people.”
On the same day, Zelensky’s director of duties, Defence Minister Andriy Jamack, Defence Minister Rastem Umerov and Foreign Minister Andri Sibich met with the foreign policy and security advisers of the German government’s leaders at the Elysee Palace in Paris to discuss the possibility of a ceasefire and security assurance.
Zelenskyy told Ukrainians there was “all specific details about preparing a new security architecture and how Ukrainian partner security conditions work.”
While his negotiators were in Paris, Zelensky met Brian Fitzpatrick’s co-chair of the Ukrainian Caucus in the US Congress.
Fitzpatrick reportedly said Ukraine enjoyed support among many Republicans and that when Ukrainian support bills come to the floor, it would gain overwhelming support.
“These negotiations are coming and going, so you should know that you are in a position of strength for people like us. We want to make those tough decisions to support you.”
Trump has publicly opposed further military aid to Ukraine, and even before he was elected, he was forced to delay lawmakers’ $600 billion in aid bill by six months.
Last Friday, Ukraine announced that it would open national resistance training centres across the country.
Veterans are reportedly teaching programs designed by the Territorial Defence Force, a military reserve in Ukraine.
It was not clear whether training would include combat, support roles in releasing military personnel, or other duties to support civil-military infrastructure.
Deputy Minister Yehuhen Moisiuk said, “We ensure that citizens are ready to contribute to the security of the country.”
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