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.
Kremlin: No orders to extend ceasefire
The US State Department said on Sunday that it would welcome the extension of an Easter ceasefire beyond just one day – but the Kremlin said no such orders had been given.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had unilaterally declared a 30-hour Easter Sunday truce. Kyiv responded by pledging to mirror Russia’s actions, but both Russian and Ukrainian officials subsequently accused each other of continuing to launch artillery and drone attacks.
Asked by Russia’s state TASS news agency whether the supposed ceasefire could be extended, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday evening: “There were no other commands.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top military commanderOleksandr Syrskyisaid Russia was continuing to use “heavy weaponry” despite the declared truce.
“The most active Russian operations this morning have been carried out in the Pokrovsk and Siversk directions,” Syrskyi said in his afternoon update, referring to embattled towns in the eastern 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.
