"Putin did not give orders to extend the Easter truce," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Pieskov in an interview with TASS agency.
As we wrote on Temat.pl, the TASS agency announced on Saturday that Vladimir Putin announced an Easter truce in the war with Ukraine. He stressed that he was guided by "humanitarian considerations".
– Russia will halt all military activities from 6:00 p.m. Moscow time (17 Polish time) 19 April to 00:00 Moscow time (h. 23 Polish time) 21 April – announced Vladimir Putin.
– We presume Ukraine will follow in our footsteps. At the same time, our troops must be ready to defy any provocations or violations by the opponent – Putin pointed out. On the another hand, the Russian Ministry of Defence reported that the armed forces would respect the truce if it was "reciprocally respected" by Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenski on Putin's truce
A fewer hours after the truce began, Zelenski emphasized in a message that "if Russia truly abruptly decides to complete and unconditional silence, Ukraine will respond appropriately – reflecting its actions".
"Our actions are and will be symmetrical. The proposal for a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire remains valid – now Moscow must respond to it," wrote the president of Ukraine on platform X.
He added that Ukraine is ready to extend the truce beyond April 20, referring to an earlier US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire that Kiev had already accepted.
However, this morning Volodymyr Zelenski stated on X that Moscow "is trying to make a general impression of a ceasefire, but in any places it does not quit attempts at offensive and inflicting losses on Ukraine".
During the first six hours of the "large-night truce" there were to be 387 shellings, 19 land attacks and 290 cases of drone use. Mr Zelenski stressed that the Russian side was inactive engaged in armed activities. And he stated, "Our soldiers respond everywhere as the enemy deserves – according to the current situation at the front.".
