Russia has attacked Ukraine despite the ongoing and agreed-upon “Easter truce,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.
“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,” Zelensky said in a post on X.
Zelensky noted that in various regions, Russian forces conducted artillery strikes and his forces had to ward off many assaults by Russian troops, including drones.
Most attacks, using “heavy weaponry,” were carried out in the Pkrovsk and Siversk directions and along the frontline, Zelensky said.
His post comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an “Eastern truce,” directing his military to temporarily pause fighting until Sunday evening.
Putin announced the brief ceasefire on Saturday during a meeting with the chief of general staff of the Russian Armed Forces. He said the fighting would be stopped and “guided by humanitarian considerations,” and Russia expected Ukraine to “follow our example.”
Hours after the ceasefire announcement, Putin attended an Easter service on Saturday evening at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
Putin still readied his troops to “repel possible violations” of the ceasefire.
Zelensky argued that Putin was playing with human lives.
In his posts online on Sunday, Zelensky said Ukraine is documenting every attack from Russia to show how it has broken the truce. He also declared Ukraine would be conducting a “symmetrical approach” to Russia’s actions.
“We are documenting every Russian violation of its self-declared commitment to a full ceasefire for the Easter period and are prepared to provide the necessary information to our partners,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader said the 30-day ceasefire remains on the table and argued that Putin is the real cause of the aggression, since some areas were quieter once the Easter ceasefire was announced, The Associated Press reported.
Zelensky accused Putin of either not having control over his army, or the Sunday attacks show Russia has “no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war.”
He called on Russia and Putin to “give diplomacy a real chance.”
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