President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Moscow is pretending to keep to an Easter ceasefire, while still carrying out assaults at the frontline. Meanwhile, the two sides have carried out a new prisoner swap.
The US State Department declared on Sunday that it would welcome an extension of an Easter ceasefire to more than one day. However, the Kremlin denied that such an order were given.
This past Saturday Russian the president Vladimir Putin had unilaterally announced an Easter Sunday truce that lasted for 30 hours. Kyiv replied by promising to follow Russia’s lead however each Russian as well as Ukrainian officials later blamed each other for continuing to launch drone and artillery attacks.
In response to a question from Russia’s state TASS news agency if the ceasefire was likely to continue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Sunday night: “There were no other commands.”
At the same time Ukraine’s top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyisaid Russia continued to employ “heavy weaponry” despite the declared cease-fire.
“The most active Russian operations this morning have been carried out in the Pokrovsk and Siversk directions,” Syrskyi declared in his update for the afternoon and was referring to towns that were blighted within the east Donetsk region.
What did Putin and Zelenskyy say about the truce?
Russian President Volodymyr Putin declared the Easter ceasefire after attending midnight mass, citing “humanitarian considerations.”
Kyiv has been skeptical about the 30-hour truce. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was an illusion with Russia continuing to shell Ukraine overnight, having promised to respond symmetrically. He also spoke of the resilience of the people of his country.
Russia says positions shelled overnight amid truce
The Russian defense ministry says it has “repelled” Ukrainian attacks during the brief truce. Moscow also accused Kyiv of launching drones and shells, causing civilian casualties.
The ministry said that “despite the announcement of the Easter truce, Ukrainian units at night made attempts to attack” its positions in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
It said Ukraine had overnight “444 times shelled… the positions of our troops and carried out 900 strikes with drones.”
These attacks left civilians “dead and wounded”, the ministry said, without elaborating.
Russian officials insisted their troops had “strictly observed the ceasefire and stayed at the front lines and positions they previously occupied.”
Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian forces of shelling and assaults along the front line despite the truce announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kyiv’s former Berlin envoy says fate of Europe depends on Merz
Ukraine’s former ambassador to Germany, Andrii Melnyk, is urging Germany’s incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz to immediately allow the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Melnyk called on Merz to announce a shipment of 150 Taurus missiles in the Bundestag on May 6, the day he is set to be elected chancellor by lawmakers.
In an open letter published by Die Welt newspaper, Melnyk said action was needed to ensure swift delivery.
Melnyk, set to become Kyiv’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York, said the delivery was needed to curb Russia’s advance and shift the dynamics of the war.
He appealed to Merz’s sense of historical responsibility: “Not only does the future of Germany depend on your success as chancellor, but also the fate of Ukraine — and of all of Europe,” he wrote. Melnyk said Merz had a “historic opportunity to make Germany the most important beacon of the free democratic world.”
The weapons should be delivered, “without ifs and buts,” he wrote.
The German Air Force has operated the Taurus system since 2005 and each missile costs approximately €1 million ($1.1 million).
Merz, leader of Germany’s center-right Christian Democrats, says he supports supplying the missiles to Ukraine but that any such move would require coordination with European allies.
Center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz, now serving in a caretaker role, has consistently ruled out sending the Taurus missiles, saying it could drag Germany further into the conflict.
Putin’s ceasefire may allow redeployments
Nikolay Petrov, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, told DW that Russia’s ceasefire pledge is intended to placate the White House and may have been a ploy to buy time for strategic redeployments.
“This ceasefire — even if only for 30 hours — is timed exactly for Easter, as the Americans had previously requested. It looks very good [for the Kremlin]. Especially since the initiative comes from Russia, and especially since it doesn’t really oblige them to anything,” Petrov said.
“One can always cite a violation of the ceasefire by the other side as a reason to pull out,” he told DW.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the temporary truce in Ukraine on Saturday.
“What matters is that the duration is short,” said Petrov. “What matters is that the ceasefire was announced as part of a secret operation, without any prior discussion. This means that the Russian side could prepare for it and use those 30 hours to carry out some redeployments in its own interest and then begin or continue the offensive.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia is creating a false appearance of honoring the ceasefire, saying Moscow has continued to launch attacks into Sunday.
