Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of creating a mere “impression” of a ceasefire as Moscow reportedly continued shelling areas of Ukraine overnight.
In a televised meeting with his commander-in-chief on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the temporary ceasefire would last from 6pm Moscow time (4pm BST) on Saturday until midnight (10pm BST) on Sunday.
Putin claimed he had ordered his forces to “stop all military activity” along the frontline during this window for “humanitarian reasons”.
But Zelenskyy said there had been hundreds of instances of shelling on Saturday evening. Early on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported 59 instances of shelling and five assault attempts along the frontline, he said.
In a post on X, the Ukrainian president wrote:
Overall, as of Easter morning, we can state that the Russian army is attempting to create the general impression of a ceasefire, while in some areas still continuing isolated attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine. 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. We will act in accordance with the actual situation on the ground.
Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after both sides failed to agree on them.
Photograph: Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters
In some other developments:
- On Saturday, Ukraine and Russia said they had each returned 246 soldiers being held as prisoners of war, in a swap mediated by the UAE. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the total number of returned POWs now stood at 4,552. The UAE’s foreign ministry said 31 injured Ukrainians and 15 wounded Russians were also exchanged.
- Moscow’s troops have driven out Ukrainian forces from nearly all of the Kursk region, Russia’s chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, has said. “The bulk of the area where the invasion took place has now been cleared,” Gerasimov told Putin in a televised meeting. “It’s 1,260 sq km, 99.5%.” The RIA state news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying on Saturday that Russian troops recaptured the village of Oleshnya in Kursk.
- Russian troops are “solidifying their presence” in the village of Kalynove in the Donetsk region, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing the DeepState military blog.The publication reports, sourcing DeepState, that Russian forces are deploying infantry and establishing logistical routes and communication lines in Kalynove.
