Zelenskyy says Russia is faking a ceasefire while continuing its attacks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia is pretending to follow an Easter ceasefire, while still launching attacks after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a one-sided temporary truce.

“As of Easter morning, we can say that the Russian army is 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,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Even though Putin declared a ceasefire for Easter, Zelenskyy reported on Sunday morning that Ukrainian forces recorded 59 shelling incidents, five ground attacks along the front, and many drone strikes.

In later updates, Zelenskyy said that although Ukraine responded equally to Russia’s actions, “the trend of increasing the use of heavy weaponry by Russian forces continues.” He mentioned that “a good thing, at least, that there were no air raid sirens.”

He added that some Ukrainian soldiers died in a Russian “ambush” on Sunday in the Donetsk region and promised that those responsible would be “eliminated.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian troops of carrying out attacks in the Donetsk region overnight, saying Ukraine launched 48 drones into Russian territory. The ministry reported that there were “dead and wounded among the civilian population” but gave no further details. It claimed Russian forces followed the ceasefire.

Officials appointed by Russia in the partially occupied Kherson region also said Ukrainian forces launched strikes.

Zelenskyy insisted that Russia should fully respect the ceasefire and repeated Ukraine’s proposal to extend the truce for 30 days after it ends at midnight Sunday. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha‎ said Moscow had not replied to Kyiv’s offer.

“In practice, either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favorable PR coverage,” Zelenskyy wrote.

Just hours after announcing the ceasefire, Putin attended an Easter service Saturday night at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The ceremony was led by Patriarch Kirill, a strong supporter of both Putin and the war in Ukraine.

Putin did not explain how the ceasefire would be enforced or whether it applied to airstrikes or continuing ground fighting.

His announcement came after U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that peace talks between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and claimed that neither side is “playing” him in his efforts to help end the three-year war.

The State Department said Sunday that the U.S. supports “a full and comprehensive ceasefire.” It highlighted promising discussions in Paris last week about peace efforts in Ukraine, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared in a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.