Lucy Clarkbiling
BBC News
Reuters
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of violating the 30-hour “Easter Armistice” announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, but it has now expired.
Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky said Russian troops had violated nearly 3,000 ceasefires since the beginning of Sunday.
The Russian defense ministry said it “repelled” the attacks by Ukraine and accused Kiev of launching hundreds of drones and shells. The BBC does not independently verify claims by fighters.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, who is seeking an end to the war, said, “Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week.”
Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory, including the Southern Crimea Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people (the majority of their soldiers) have been killed or injured on all sides since 2022.
Last month, Moscow came up with a long list of conditions in response to a complete and unconditional ceasefire agreed by the US and Ukraine.
On Saturday, Putin said all hostilities from 18:00 Moscow time (16:00 BST) on Saturday to midnight (22:00 BST) on Sunday would be over. Kiev said that he would comply with that as well.
“During this period, I will order all military actions to be stopped,” Putin said in his announcement.
“We assume that the Ukrainian side follows our example, and at the same time our troops must be ready to fight back any possible ceasefire and provocation from the enemy.
However, Zelensky said on Sunday that a total of 1,882 Russian artillery fires were reported by the commander of the Ukrainian Oleksandr Silsky army.
The president said the heaviest artillery fire and attacks were found in eastern Ukraine, near the besieged city of Pokrovsk, the Donetsk region’s main logistics hub.
“The nature of Ukraine’s actions will continue to be reflected. We will respond to silence. Our strike is to protect against Russian strikes,” Zelensky said.
Earlier that day, he said, “There were no air raid alerts today.”
He proposed “we proposed to stop the strike using long-range drones and missiles from civilian infrastructure for at least 30 days with the possibility of extension.”
Zelensky also said Putin’s declaration of an armistice was equivalent to a “PR” exercise, and his words were “empty.” He also accused the Kremlin of trying to create a “general impression of a ceasefire.”
“This Easter clearly demonstrated that Russia is the sole source of this war and why it is being dragged over,” the president said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that its troops “have strictly observed the ceasefire.”
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova has accused Ukraine of using US-backed Himah missiles during the ceasefire.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had not given an order to extend it hours before the armistice expired, Russian state-run news agency TASS reported.
The announcement of the surprise ceasefire comes shortly after Trump threatened to “take a pass” by further mediating Russia-Ukrain peace talks.
However, a State Department spokesman said on Sunday that Washington is “committed to achieving a full and comprehensive ceasefire.”
“It’s been a long time since we stopped death and destruction and ended this war,” the spokesman added.
BBC Ukrainian correspondent reports from Kherson during the Easter ceasefire
There were mixed reactions about the 30-hour truce from Ukrainians who attended Kiev’s Easter Morning Service and the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk on Sunday.
“I don’t think I’m this guy [Putin] Olena Poplucci, a 45-year-old lawyer, told Reuters.
Meanwhile, in Donetsk, which has been under Russian control since 2014, residents have expressed similar distrust that Zelensky would stick to the conditions of a ceasefire.
“I saw him very well [Zelensky’s] Reaction,” said Vladimir, who attended the city’s Easter morning service.
“There was nothing about the ceasefire… just a vague statement that doesn’t give us confidence that we won’t be fired.”
On Sunday, the UK government described the proposed ceasefire as a “day stunt” and said the alleged ceasefire was linked to a violation “including the murder and injury of more innocent Ukrainians.”
A statement from the Foreign, Federal and Development Office (FCDO) said the ceasefire adapted “a pattern of previous false ceasefires” and instead called for a long 30-day suspension in the battle, as proposed by Ukraine.
“As always, there is no evidence that President Putin is seriously preparing for peace,” the FCDO statement said.
The US has spoken directly with Russia as part of its efforts to end the war, but it is struggling to make great progress.
On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is “not going to continue this effort for weeks and months” to ensure that it “focuses on other priorities.”
“We need to make a quick decision right now — and I’m talking about the issue for a few days, whether this is viable or not,” he added.
“If that doesn’t happen, we’re just going to move on.”
