Kiev/Moscow, Apr. 20, (dpa/GNA) – Moscow and Kiev traded allegations of Easter ceasefire breaches on Sunday with both sides reporting mass drone and artillery attacks.
In his afternoon update, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi Russian said Russian shelling and the use of kamikaze drones had been observed.
“The most active Russian operations this morning have been carried out in the Pokrovsk and Siversk directions. In these and several other areas of the frontline, Russia continues to use heavy weaponry,” the general said in reference to Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
He said there had been 26 assaults in the 12 hours up to noon (0900 GMT).
“Either [Russian President Vladimir] 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 favorable PR coverage,” he said, in reference to Putin’s unilateral declaration of an Easter ceasefire.
Ukraine was taking a “symmetrical approach” to Russian actions, Syrskyi said.
Putin on Saturday had said the ceasefire would cover 30 hours over Easter Sunday, lasting until midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT Sunday), prompting scepticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky on Sunday reiterated his proposal to extend the ceasefire for 30 days to “give peace a chance.”
But he added: “We will act in accordance with the actual situation on the ground.”
By Sunday evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Russian state media that Putin had not given any order for an extension.
There had been 387 instances of shelling and 19 assaults by Russian forces between 6 pm on Saturday and midnight, Zelensky said. Drones were used by Russians 290 times, he added.
For its part, Moscow charged that Ukrainian forces with continuing their attacks. These attacks, in the Donetsk region among other areas, had been warded off, the Defence Ministry said.
The ministry said there had been dozens of drone attacks and that hundreds of artillery shells had been fired overnight by the Ukrainian side. The attacks had targeted the border regions of Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod, among others, it said.
“There are deaths and injuries among the peaceful population and damage to civilian buildings,” the ministry statement said. Details of casualties were not given.
GNA
PDC