Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the temporary truce announced by President Vladimir Putin was his “next attempt to play with people’s lives.”
Zelenskyy cited an “air alert” that spread across Ukraine on Saturday, stating that air defence and aviation had commenced operations to protect the people.
“Shaheeds (Russia’s Shahed drones) in our sky are Putin’s true attitude to Easter and to people’s lives,” the president noted.
On Saturday, President Putin announced that his armed forces would pause hostilities against Ukraine during the Easter celebration.
In a televised statement released by the Kremlin, the Russian leader explained that the temporary ceasefire was on humanitarian grounds.
“Today (Saturday) from 6 p.m. to midnight from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side announces an Easter truce,” Putin said.
The president issued an order “to stop all fighting,” adding that Russia expects the Ukrainian side to “follow our example.”
Putin, however, put troops on alert to respond to “possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the ceasefire was “for humanitarian purposes” and would be observed by its forces “provided that it is mutually respected by the Kiev regime.”
Russia faced global outrage after the Palm Sunday ballistic missile strike that killed at least 34 people and injured more than 110.
Attempts to implement ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 failed after Russia and Ukraine were unable to reach an agreement.
