After the report from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russian forces violated the "Easter truce" 2935 times. He emphasized that Ukraine's actions would mirror the aggression from Russia.
Zelensky noted: "The total number of violations by the Russian army of its own promise of silence for this day is 2935".
He also mentioned that the most attacks were recorded in the Pokrovsk direction.
"In the Kursk direction, the Russian promise of complete silence was also not fulfilled," the president stressed.
According to his statements, there were 96 Russian assault actions, 1882 shellings of Ukrainian positions, including 812 from heavy weaponry, and more than 950 instances of Russian FPV drone usage.
Zelensky also remarked: "On this day, Moscow lacked the time to respond to the proposal of a complete ceasefire for the next 30 days after Easter, as well as to the suggestion to at least maintain silence in the skies regarding civilian infrastructure and refrain from missile and drone strikes."
"The nature of Ukrainian actions will remain mirrored: we will respond to silence with silence, and our strikes will counter Russian attacks. Actions are always more eloquent than words."
What preceded: On the evening of April 19, Zelensky stated that the Russian "Easter truce" does not extend to the Kursk and Belgorod regions of the Russian Federation, and shelling has not ceased in various other directions on the front.
Zelensky proposed to Russia to extend the ban on long-range strikes for 30 days since no air alerts were recorded during the so-called "Easter truce" despite numerous violations by the RF on the front.
Background:
- On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the "Easter truce," which supposedly includes a halt to all hostilities in Ukraine from the evening of April 19 to midnight on April 21. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the occupiers would adhere to the ceasefire regime provided that Kyiv also complies.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Saturday evening that Ukraine would act in a mirrored manner regarding the ceasefire from Russia. He also suggested extending the truce after April 20 if complete silence truly prevails.
- According to the monitoring project DeepState, soldiers on almost all fronts did not experience the so-called "Easter truce" promised by the Russians.
- According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, from the beginning of the day on April 20 until 4 PM, despite the announced "ceasefire" by the Russian Federation, there were 45 combat encounters on the front, 20 of which were in the Pokrovsk direction.
- The Kremlin stated that the Russian government did not give an order to continue the so-called "Easter truce," which the Russians were already not observing, after midnight on April 21.
