Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of breaching Easter truce |

KYIV: Russia and Ukraine on Sunday accused each other of violating an Easter truce introduced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned Russian forces had been persevering with their shelling and assaults alongside the entrance line regardless of Putin asserting the shock truce.
The 30-hour truce beginning Saturday night to mark the spiritual vacation could be probably the most important pause within the preventing all through the three-year battle.
But Zelensky accused Russia of having maintained its assaults on the entrance line after the truce began.
Russia’s defence ministry in flip mentioned it had “repelled” tried assaults by Ukraine and accused Kyiv of launching drones and shells, inflicting civilian casualties.
Zelensky mentioned Sunday, citing Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky, that “an increase in Russian shelling and the use of kamikaze drones has been observed since 10:00 am (0700 GMT)”.
Earlier he mentioned that the primary six hours of the ceasefire noticed “387 instances of shelling and 19 assaults by Russian forces,” with drones “used by Russians 290 times”.
Ukraine’s air pressure on Sunday morning had not reported any drone or missile assaults, nonetheless.
AFP journalists heard explosions on Sunday morning round a dozen kilometres (seven miles) from the entrance line in east Ukraine.
Ukraine will reply “symmetrically” to any assaults, Zelensky mentioned, accusing Russia of “attempting to create the general impression of a ceasefire” whereas persevering with remoted assaults.
Russia’s defence ministry mentioned that “despite the announcement of the Easter truce, Ukrainian units at night made attempts to attack” its positions within the Donetsk area, “which were repelled”.
Overnight, it mentioned, Ukraine “444 times shelled… the positions of our troops and carried out 900 strikes with drones”.
These assaults left civilians “dead and wounded”, the ministry mentioned, with out giving particulars.
It insisted its troops had “strictly observed the ceasefire and stayed at the front lines and positions they previously occupied”.
Putin’s order to halt all fight over the Easter weekend got here after months of efforts by US President Donald Trump to get Moscow and Kyiv to conform to a ceasefire.
On Friday, Washington even threatened to withdraw from talks if no progress was made.
‘Give peace an opportunity’
Putin introduced the truce from 1800 (1500 GMT) Saturday to midnight Sunday (2100 GMT Sunday) in televised feedback, saying it was motivated by “humanitarian reasons”.
While he anticipated Ukraine to conform, Putin mentioned that Russian troops “must be ready to resist possible breaches of the truce and provocations by the enemy”.
Zelensky mentioned Ukraine would comply with go well with, and proposed extending the truce past Sunday.
“Russia must fully comply with the conditions of the ceasefire. Ukraine’s proposal to implement and extend the ceasefire for 30 days after midnight tonight remains on the table,” Zelensky’s put up mentioned Sunday.
Earlier he urged that “30 days could give peace a chance” — whereas declaring that Putin had already rejected a proposed 30-day full and unconditional ceasefire.
‘Can’t belief Russia’
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.
Previous makes an attempt at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 weren’t carried out after either side did not agree on them.
In Kyiv on Sunday, as Easter bells rang out, folks expressed doubts over whether or not Russia would observe a truce whereas welcoming Zelensky’s proposal to increase it.
“They’ve already broken their promise. Unfortunately, we cannot trust Russia today,” mentioned 38-year-old Olga Grachova, who works in advertising and marketing.
“Our president has clearly said that if they announce a 30-hour ceasefire, we will announce a 30-day ceasefire. So let them go for it… so that this terrible war ends, so that our people, our soldiers, and children stop dying,” mentioned Sergiy Klochko, 30, a railway employee.
But Natalia, a 41-year-old medic, mentioned of Zelensky’s 30-day proposal: “Everything we offer, unfortunately, remains only our offers. Nobody responds to them.”
On the streets of Moscow, Yevgeny Pavlov, 58, didn’t assume Russia ought to give Ukraine a breather.
“There is no need to give them respite. If we press, it means we should press to the end,” he advised AFP.