Ukraine and Russia are accused of continuing the attacks despite the Easter truce – Liberation
Ukraine and Russia have mutually accused Sunday April 20 to continue their attacks, despite the 30 -hour break for Easter announced the day before by Vladimir Putin and accepted by his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. Accusations which demonstrate the difficulties in imposing a short, even short cessation of hostilities between the two countries, more than three years after the start of the invasion by Russia, which today occupies about 20 % of Ukraine.
On the Russian side, the Ministry of Defense has reported unsuccessful attempts at the Ukrainian army of« Attack Russian positions » In the Soukha Balka and Bagyr sectors in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine. Russian authorities have also reported Ukrainian military actions against the Russian border regions of Brita, Koursk and Belgorod, in which « Civilians have been killed or injured ». In total, Moscow accused Kyiv of bombing the Russian positions 444 times using artillery and 900 times with drones, during the night from Saturday to Sunday.
On the Ukrainian side, Volodymyr Zelensky reported « Russian operations » in the Pokrovsk and Siversek sectors, on the eastern front, accusing the Russian army of « Continue using heavy weapons ». He reported 46 Russian assaults and 901 attacks since the start of the day on Sunday. The Ukrainian Head of State has also once again proposed to establish a « Complete, unconditional and equitable ceasefire that can last at least 30 days ». An AFP journalist in Kramatorsk, near the premises of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, heard explosions on Sunday but the front seemed calmer than usual, no smoke having risen on the horizon.
« The activity of the enemy has decreased considerably in the regions of Zaporijia (south) and kharkiv (northeast) where we operate permanently ”testified a commander of a Ukrainian drone unit on condition of anonymity, evoking only « Isolated incidents ». Serguii, a Ukrainian officer in the Soumy region (northeast), said the night and Sunday had been « Calme » Compared to what is usually happening: « Artillery (Russian) does not pull ». « On the whole, Easter morning, we can say that the Russian army is trying to give the general impression of a ceasefire, while pursuing in certain regions isolated attempts to move forward and inflict losses on Ukraine » in Ukraine « wrote Zelensky, citing a report by the commander -in -chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandre Syrsky.
Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian soldiers on Saturday to interrupt hostilities until midnight (9 p.m. in France) on Sunday to Monday to Easter, one of the most important festivals on the Christian calendar. Volodymyr Zelensky had accepted the principle of this truce but the two presidents have given the order to reply to any violation by the other camp of the ceasefire.
