Ukraine’s leader has proposed extending the truce beyond the 30-hour period offered by Russia
Vladimir Zelensky has made a counteroffer to a 30-hour Easter ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying Kiev is ready to extend it beyond this period.
Ukraine’s leader made the remarks on his social media account late on Saturday, implying that it was primarily up to Moscow to observe the truce and that Kiev would only do likewise.
“If Russia is now suddenly ready to really join the format of complete and unconditional ceasefire, Ukraine will act in a reciprocal way – as it will be from the Russian side. Silence in response to silence, strikes in response to strikes,” Zelensky stated, adding that if the truce holds, Kiev is ready to extend it beyond the 30-hour period.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the ceasefire earlier in the day, stating the pause in hostilities would be in effect from 18:00 Moscow time on Saturday and last until midnight on April 21. Putin instructed the country’s armed forces to stay on high alert and be ready “to respond to any violations or provocations” by Ukrainian troops. The president invoked the US-brokered 30-day energy infrastructure truce agreed to on March 18, which has been breached by Ukraine about 100 times according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Shortly after the announcement however, Zelensky offered a different take, branding the truce an attempt to “play with human lives” and appearing to reject it. In his latest statement, he also questioned Moscow’s intentions, asserting that “Russian assault activities” were still continuing at several unspecified places on the front line.
The extent to which the truce was being observed thus far was not immediately clear, with assorted media reports offering mixed accounts from the ground. According to RT war correspondent Andrey Filatov, reporting from the Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) area in Donetsk People’s Republic, multiple violations of the truce were observed within an hour of it taking effect. He also said Kiev’s forces in the area have been using kamikaze drones, as well as artillery, to rain cluster munitions on Russian positions.
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