OAN Staff Blake Wolf
9:02 AM – Sunday, April 20, 2025
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of violating an Easter ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Advertisement
Putin announced the ceasefire on Saturday, ordering all Russian troops to “stop all military activity” for Easter Sunday, which would last up until midnight on Monday.
Zelensky immediately accused Russia of continuing military activity despite the proposed temporary ceasefire.
“As of Easter morning, we can say that the Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places, it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote in an X post.
“Across various frontline directions, there have already been 59 cases of Russian shelling and 5 assaults by Russian units.,” he continued. “Between 6:00 p.m. yesterday and midnight today, there were 387 instances of shelling and 19 assaults by Russian forces. Drones were used by Russians 290 times.”
Zelensky went on to accuse Putin of only being “interested in favorable PR coverage” while vowing to enact a “symmetrical approach to Russian actions.”
“We are documenting every Russian violation of its self-declared commitment to a full ceasefire for the Easter period and are prepared to provide the necessary information to our partners. In practice, either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation provides that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favorable PR coverage. It’s a good thing, at least, that there were no air raid sirens.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry claimed on Sunday that its forces were “strictly observing” the ceasefire since Putin’s announcement on Saturday while accusing Ukraine of violating the agreement over 1,000 times.
Moscow’s defense ministry went on to claim that Ukrainian units fired on Russian positions at least 444 times on Saturday night, along with 900 drone attacks.
“As a result, there were deaths and injuries among the civilian population and damage to civilian objects,” the ministry stated without providing evidence.
Despite both sides accusing the other of violating the temporary truce, Zelensky has maintained that Ukraine is still willing to agree to a 30 day ceasefire, which he claims Russia has not responded to.
Zelensky’s proposed ceasefire is in line with last month’s ceasefire proposal led by the Trump administration, which was previously rejected by Russia.
“This Easter has clearly demonstrated that the only source of this war, and the reason it drags on, is Russia. We are ready to move toward peace and a full, unconditional, and honest ceasefire that could last for at least 30 days – but there has been no response from Russia on that so far. The situation on the frontline shows that pressure on Moscow and real oversight of the actions of the occupying forces are needed for the ceasefire to be established,” Zelensky added.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Advertisements below
