Latest news with #OrthodoxChristmas
The Guardian
20-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Zelenskyy accuses Putin of creating ‘impression' of a ceasefire and says Russian shelling has continued
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Welcome back to our live coverage of Russia's war on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of creating a mere 'impression' of a ceasefire as Moscow reportedly continued shelling areas of Ukraine overnight. In a televised meeting with his commander-in-chief on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the temporary ceasefire would last from 6pm Moscow time (4pm BST) on Saturday until midnight (10pm BST) on Sunday. Putin claimed he had ordered his forces to 'stop all military activity' along the frontline during this window for 'humanitarian reasons'. Putin declares temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine – video But Zelenskyy said there had been hundreds of instances of shelling on Saturday evening. Early on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported 59 instances of shelling and five assault attempts along the frontline, he said. In a post on X, the Ukrainian president wrote: Overall, as of Easter morning, we can state that the Russian army is attempting to create the general impression of a ceasefire, while in some areas still continuing isolated attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine. Russia must fully comply with the conditions of the ceasefire. Ukraine's proposal to implement and extend the ceasefire for 30 days after midnight tonight remains on the table. We will act in accordance with the actual situation on the ground. Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after both sides failed to agree on them. The aftermath of a Russian attack on the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Photograph: Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters In some other developments: On Saturday, Ukraine and Russia said they had each returned 246 soldiers being held as prisoners of war, in a swap mediated by the UAE. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the total number of returned POWs now stood at 4,552. The UAE's foreign ministry said 31 injured Ukrainians and 15 wounded Russians were also exchanged. Moscow's troops have driven out Ukrainian forces from nearly all of the Kursk region, Russia's chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov , has said. 'The bulk of the area where the invasion took place has now been cleared,' Gerasimov told Putin in a televised meeting. 'It's 1,260 sq km, 99.5%.' The RIA state news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying on Saturday that Russian troops recaptured the village of Oleshnya in Kursk. Russian troops are 'solidifying their presence' in the village of Kalynove in the Donetsk region, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing the DeepState military blog. The publication reports, sourcing DeepState, that Russian forces are deploying infantry and establishing logistical routes and communication lines in Kalynove. Share
Sky News
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Russian attacks on Ukraine continue despite 'Easter truce', Zelenskyy says
Russian attacks on Ukraine continued overnight into Easter Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy says - despite Vladimir Putin announcing a 30-hour "Easter truce". The Ukrainian president said on social media that Russia was "trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire" but there had still been "attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine". On Saturday, Mr Putin announced a 30-hour ceasefire lasting from 6pm on Saturday to midnight on Easter Sunday - both Moscow time, which is two hours ahead of the UK. "Guided by humanitarian considerations... the Russian side declares an Easter truce," Mr Putin said at a meeting with chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov. "I order that all military actions be stopped for this period. "We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions." Mr Zelenskyy claimed Russian attacks were continuing despite the truce announcement. He said there had been hundreds of instances of shelling on Saturday evening. Early on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported 59 instances of shelling and five assault attempts along the front line, he said. He reiterated that Kyiv was willing to extend the ceasefire for 30 days but said that if Russia kept fighting on Sunday, so would Ukraine. "Ukraine will continue to act in a mirror manner," he said. Mr Putin's truce suggestion came soon after Donald Trump threatened to "take a pass" on Ukraine peace talks, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting. On Friday, the US president said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are "coming to a head" and insisted that neither side is "playing" him in his push to end the grinding three-year war. Mr Trump spoke shortly after secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US may "move on" from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there was no progress in the coming days. Shortly after the ceasefire was announced, Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said there had been a "long history" of Mr Putin's words not "matching his actions". "We know his words cannot be trusted and we will look at actions, not words," he added. The ceasefire announcement has echoes of January 2023, when Mr Putin ordered his forces in Ukraine to observe a 36-hour truce for Orthodox Christmas. At that time, Mr Zelenskyy stopped short of stating his forces would reject Mr Putin's request, but dismissed the Russian move as playing for time to regroup its invasion forces and prepare additional attacks. Prisoner exchange It comes as Ukraine and Russia conducted a swap of more than 500 prisoners of war on Saturday, the latest in a series of exchanges since Russia launched a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. 0:32 Mr Zelenskyy, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, said 277 Ukrainian service personnel had returned home from Russian captivity. Russia's defence ministry said 246 servicemen had been handed over by Kyiv. It said a further 31 injured prisoners of war had been handed over to Ukraine and 15 of its own wounded servicemen had also been returned by Kyiv.
Sky News
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Ukraine war: Putin announces 30-hour 'Easter truce' - but Zelenskyy says Russian attacks continuing
Vladimir Putin has announced a 30-hour "Easter truce" in Ukraine - but Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian attacks are continuing hours after it was due to begin. The Ukrainian president shared a statement on X after his Russian counterpart said a ceasefire would last from 6pm on Saturday to midnight on Easter Sunday - both Moscow time, which is two hours ahead of the UK. "Guided by humanitarian considerations... the Russian side declares an Easter truce," Mr Putin said at a meeting with chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov. "I order that all military actions be stopped for this period. "We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions." Mr Zelenskyy claimed Russian attacks were continuing despite the truce announcement. He wrote: "As of now... Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided. "Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow." Mr Zelenskyy said in the same statement that a US proposal for a "full and unconditional 30 days ceasefire" has gone "unanswered" by Russia for 39 days. He added that Ukraine "responded positively" to the American proposal but "Russia ignored it". The Ukrainian president said that "if Russia is now suddenly ready to truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly - mirroring Russia's actions". "If a complete ceasefire truly takes hold, Ukraine proposes extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20," he added. "That is what will reveal Russia's true intentions - because 30 hours is enough to make headlines, but not for genuine confidence-building measures. Thirty days could give peace a chance." Shortly after the ceasefire was announced, Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said there had been a "long history" of Mr Putin's words not "matching his actions". "We know his words cannot be trusted and we will look at actions, not words," he added. The ceasefire announcement has echoes of January 2023, when Mr Putin ordered his forces in Ukraine to observe a 36-hour truce for Orthodox Christmas. At that time, Mr Zelenskyy stopped short of stating his forces would reject Mr Putin's request, but dismissed the Russian move as playing for time to regroup its invasion forces and prepare additional attacks. Prisoner exchange It comes as Ukraine and Russia conducted a swap of more than 500 prisoners of war on Saturday, the latest in a series of exchanges since Russia launched a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. 0:32 Mr Zelenskyy, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, said 277 Ukrainian service personnel had returned home from Russian captivity. Russia's defence ministry said 246 servicemen had been handed over by Kyiv. It said a further 31 injured prisoners of war had been handed over to Ukraine and 15 of its own wounded servicemen had also been returned by Kyiv. The developments come after US President Donald Trump on Friday said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are "coming to a head" and insisted that neither side is "playing" him in his push to end the grinding three-year war. Mr Trump spoke shortly after secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US may "move on" from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting.
Al Etihad
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Etihad
Zelensky says Ukraine will observe Easter truce
19 Apr 2025 23:00 Kyiv (AFP)Ukraine will abide by an Easter truce, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, hours after Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to pause all combat activity until 2100 GMT on Sunday."If Russia is now suddenly ready to truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly -- mirroring Russia's actions," Zelensky said Saturday in a post on proposed "extending it beyond the Easter day of April 20".Putin made the surprise announcement of an Easter truce, set to last until midnight on Sunday (Moscow time), having last month rejected a US proposal for a 30-day unconditional had accepted that Donald Trump is pushing to end the three-year war, but on Friday threatened to ditch his efforts to broker a ceasefire if he did not see meaningful progress soon. Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after the two sides failed to agree on them.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Putin declares 'Easter truce', as Ukraine says he 'cannot be trusted'
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has ordered his forces to "stop all military activity" in Ukraine, as he declared an "Easter truce" until the end of Sunday. He said the 30-hour truce would last until 22:00 BST on Sunday (00:00 Moscow time), adding that Russian forces should be prepared to respond to "any possible violations". Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin of attempting to "play with human lives" - but did not say whether Ukraine had agreed to the halt in fighting. Zelensky said Russian drones were detected in Ukraine's skies shortly before the truce was set to come into effect, which he said revealed Putin's "true attitude toward Easter and toward human life". Follow live: Putin announces 'Easter truce' in Ukraine until end of Sunday Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Ukraine had already agreed to a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, writing on X: "Putin has now made statements about his alleged readiness for a cease-fire. 30 hours instead of 30 days." "Unfortunately, we have had a long history of his statements not matching his actions. We know his words cannot be trusted and we will look at actions, not words," he added. Putin announced the temporary truce at a meeting with his chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov. "Based on humanitarian considerations... the Russian side announces an Easter truce. I order a stop to all military activities for this period," Putin told Gerasimov. "We assume that Ukraine will follow our example. At the same time, our troops should be prepared to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any aggressive actions." The Russian defence ministry said its troops would adhere to the ceasefire provided it was "mutually respected" by Ukraine. It is not the first time a pause in fighting has been suddenly announced - a previous attempt at a ceasefire during Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 fell apart after both sides failed to agree on a proposal. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, 2022. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people - the vast majority of them soldiers - have been killed or injured on all sides. The US has been directly talking to Russia as part of its efforts to end the war, but has struggled to make major progress. Last month, Moscow rejected a proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire that had been agreed by the US and Ukraine. US President Donald Trump on Friday warned Washington would "take a pass" on brokering further talks on ending the war in Ukraine unless there was quick progress. He was speaking after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was not "going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end", as it had "other priorities to focus on". "We need to determine very quickly now - and I'm talking about a matter of days - whether or not this is doable," he added. "If it's not going to happen, then we're just going to move on." Trump says US will 'pass' on Ukraine peace talks if no progress soon
