‘Russia trying to create impression of ceasefire as attacks continue’

Kyiv, April 20: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Sunday 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.
“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.
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.
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 10 am. 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.
He 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. (AP)