Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of breaking Easter ceasefire

Russia and Ukraine blamed each other on Sunday for breaking a one-day Easter ceasefire declared by President Vladimir Putin, with each side accusing the other of hundreds of attacks and the Kremlin saying there was no order for a ceasefire extension, NBC News reports.

 

Putin, who sent thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022, ordered his forces to stop all military activity along the front line in the three-year-old war until midnight Moscow time on Sunday.

 

TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying there was no order from Putin to extend the ceasefire.

 

In Washington, the State Department said it would welcome an extension.

 

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said Moscow’s actions in coming days “will reveal Russia’s true attitude toward U.S. peace efforts” and a proposed 30-day ceasefire.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was pretending to observe the Easter ceasefire, but had carried out hundreds of artillery attacks on Saturday night, and more on Sunday.

 

Russia launched 67 assaults from midnight until 8 p.m. local time, Zelenskyy wrote on X.

 

“Either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favorable PR coverage,” Zelenskyy posted.