Attacks continue despite Putin’s ‘Easter truce’ pledge, Zelenskyy says

UKRAINIAN president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of creating an ‘impression’ of a ceasefire while still taking military actions in some places in Ukraine.

In the first six hours of the ‘Easter truce’ – as ordered by Russian president Vladimir Putin – Zelenskyy said there had been 387 shellings and 19 assaults by Russian forces, and drones used 290 times.

There are no reports of casualties.

Putin ordered his forces to “stop all military activity” in Ukraine from 18h00 Moscow time on Saturday until midnight on Sunday.

Kyiv said it would also adhere.

The BBC in Ukraine reports that it has been quieter on the front lines.

Because Putin’s ceasefire was announced minutes before it was due to take effect, an immediate, complete pause was always unlikely, but it has been quieter.

Before Zelenskyy said there had been continued attacks in some areas, at midnight on Saturday there were no reported Russian drones or fighter jets in Ukrainian skies.

That is very rare.

The only report was that a Russian ship with missile launchers had been deployed to the Black Sea.

In the southern city of Odesa, it was silent. On Friday, before Moscow’s announcement, air defences crackled throughout the night as Russian drones flew in from the direction of occupied Crimea.

On Sunday morning, Zelenskyy said Moscow was “trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine”. – BBC

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