Zelenskyy says Russia trying to create ‘impression of a ceasefire’ as attacks continue
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of creating a false appearance of honouring an Easter ceasefire, saying Moscow continued to launch attacks overnight after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a unilateral temporary truce in Ukraine.
Despite Putin’s declaration of an Easter ceasefire on Saturday, Zelenskyy said Sunday morning that Ukrainian forces had recorded 59 instances of Russian shelling and five assaults by units across various areas along the front line, as well as dozens of drone strikes.
“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,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
In this photo provided by Ukraine’s 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a ruined city centre in Kostyantynivka, the site of heavy battles with Russian troops, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade)
In a later update on X, Zelenskyy said “despite Ukraine declaring a symmetrical approach to Russian actions”, there had been an increase in Russian shelling and drone attacks since 10am (5pm AEST).
He said, however, that it was “a good thing, at least, that there were no air raid sirens”.
“In practice, 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 favourable PR coverage,” he wrote.
Zelenskyy said that Russia must fully adhere to the ceasefire conditions and reiterated Ukraine’s offer to extend the truce for 30 days, starting midnight Sunday.
He said the proposal “remains on the table” and added: “We will act in accordance with the actual situation on the ground.”
Zelenskyy said on Saturday night that some areas were quieter since the ceasefire was announced, which he claimed showed Putin to be the “true cause” of the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin attend the Orthodox Easter service at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Ramil Sitdikov/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
“As soon as Putin gave an order to scale back the attacks, the intensity of strikes and killings dropped. The only source of this war and its prolongation is in Russia,” he wrote on X.
Russia-installed officials in the partially occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson said that Ukrainian forces continued their attacks.
Just hours after announcing the ceasefire, Putin attended an Easter service late on Saturday (early Sunday AEST) at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour led by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a vocal supporter of Putin and the war in Ukraine.
According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will last from 6pm Moscow time on Saturday (1am Sunday AEST) to midnight on Easter Sunday (7am Monday AEST).
Putin offered no details on how the ceasefire would be monitored or whether it would cover airstrikes or ongoing ground battles that rage around the clock.
His announcement came after U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding three-year war.
