Ukrainian servicemen taking part in Easter service lead by Chaplain Father Sergiy in Zaporizhzhya Credit: ANDRIY ANDRIYENKO/Press service of the 65th Separate Mechanised Brigade/AFP via Getty Images
Harriet Barber
April 20, 2025
Russian forces used the “Easter truce” as a cover to improve front-line positions, according to Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukraine’s Khartiia Brigade warned Russia was using the “ceasefire” to increase personnel in Kharkiv, while a separate Ukrainian army unit said the Russians on Sunday were “preparing routes for the passage of heavy equipment” across the Black Stallion River in Luhansk.
The 66th Separate Mechanised Brigade added that Russian troops had launched drone strikes against its positions, and that Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance had spotted machine guns being moved towards the front line.
Vladimir Putin ordered the 30-hour temporary truce on Saturday, in what would have been the most significant pause in the fightingthroughout the three-year conflict.
The Russian dictator said his forces would “stop all military activity” between 6pm Moscow time and midnight on Sunday. Kyiv also agreed to adhere.
Analysts warned the Russian president was attempting to score an easy diplomatic victory with Washington by positioning himself as a leader who wants peace after Donald Trump threatened to walk away from negotiations.
Within hours, both sides had accused each other of breaking the ceasefire.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, wrote on on social media: “The Russian army has violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times.”
But he added that there had been “no air raid alerts today” and proposed “to cease any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure for a period of at least 30 days.”
The Ukrainian president also reiterated Ukraine’s offer to extend the truce for 30 days, starting at midnight on Sunday.
He said the proposal “remains on the table” and added: “We will act in accordance with the actual situation on the ground.”
Britain urged Putin to use the Easter truce to commit to a full ceasefire. A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We have seen the Ukrainian accounts of ceasefire violations, including the killing and wounding of more innocent Ukrainians during this so-called ceasefire.
“As ever, we see no evidence that President Putin is seriously preparing for peace. This ceasefire stunt fits the pattern of previous fake ceasefires. Putin should commit to a full ceasefire as the Ukrainian government has called for – not a one day stunt over Easter.”
The US said on Sunday it remained committed to achieving a “full and comprehensive ceasefire” and said it would “welcome” an extension beyond Easter.
“We have seen president Putin’s announcement of a temporary ceasefire due to Easter. We remain committed to achieving a full and comprehensive ceasefire,” a State Department spokesman said in a statement.
“As we assess their seriousness in this instance, we would welcome it extending beyond Sunday.”
However, Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said on Sunday that the Russian president had not ordered an extension of the truce.
Russia’s defence ministry, meanwhile, claimed that Ukraine had broken the Easter ceasefire more than 1,000 times.
Overnight, it said, Ukraine “444 times shelled … the positions of our troops and carried out 900 strikes with drones”.
These attacks left civilians “dead and wounded”, the ministry said, without giving details. It claimed Russian troops had strictly observed the ceasefire.
When he announced the ceasefire, Putin offered no details on how it would be monitored or whether it would cover airstrikes or ongoing ground battles that rage around the clock.
Putin’s words about a ceasefire have ‘proven empty’, says Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Vladimir Putin’s words about a ceasefire have “proven empty”.
Ukraine’s president has shared another report from commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, which notes that the “trend of increasing the use of heavy weaponry by Russian forces continues”.
From the start of today, the report says there have been a total of 46 Russian assaults “across various directions” and 901 instances of shelling, 448 of which involved heavy weaponry.
Russian forces target Ukrainian volunteer evacuating civilians
Russian forces targetted a Ukrainian volunteer’s vehicle with three drones while he was evacuating civilians in Donetsk Oblast during the ‘Easter ceasefire’, according to an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.
Volunteer Yevhen Tkachov said he was evacuating civilians from the village of Zoria, located to the south of Kramatorsk, when they were targeted by the first drone some 50 meters from the Donetsk Highway.
“I turned on the emergency lights, got out of the car, and started waving my arms to show that I was a civilian,” Mr Tkachov said.
“Despite that, the drone struck just half a metre from my car. I motioned for the two cars behind me to go ahead, but I couldn’t drive myself any more because my car wouldn’t start.”
Zelensky: Putin may not control his own army
Volodymyr Zelenksy has said that Vladimir Putin either “does not fully control his army” or that the Easter truce was a PR stunt, as he accused Russia of stepping up attacks.
The Ukrainian president said that Russia had launched dozens of assaults from midnight up until midday local time, despite Putin ordering a 30-hour temporary truce on Saturday.
“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 favourable PR coverage,” Mr Zelensky said.
Ukraine demands Fox News apology over broadcast error
Ukraine’s foreign ministry has demanded an apology from Fox News after the US television network incorrectly labelled Kyiv as a Russian city during a broadcast.
The broadcast featured live streams of Ukraine’s Easter service from St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv and a service in Moscow attended by Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian service was correctly captioned as being in “Kyiv, Ukraine” initially, but then was changed to “Kyiv, Russia”, before being corrected around 20 minutes later.
“If this was a mistake rather than a deliberate political statement, there should be an apology and an investigation into who made the mistake,” a spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.
Ukraine may need to import 6.3 bcm of gas for next winter as reserves hit record low
Ukraine may need to import up to 6.3 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas for the 2025/26 winter season as reserves have fallen to a record low due to war-related damage to some facilities, the former head of its gas transit operator said on Sunday.
Ukraine has been forced to ramp up gas withdrawals from storage and increase imports this winter and spring after Russian missile attacks damaged production facilities in the east of the country, Serhiy Makogon said on Telegram.
Quoting data, he said that the storage level was “the lowest ever” and said the country would need to collect at least 12.8 bcm of gas in reserve, including 4.6 bcm of process – or buffer – gas that is needed to ensure sufficient pressure in storage facilities.
The Kremlin is intent on dividing the West
The Russian despot has once more proved that he is never to be taken at his word
Telegraph View 20 April 2025
Vladimir Putin’s Easter “truce” in Russia’s war with Ukraine is a ploy whose cynicism was apparent as soon as his forces continued their attacks in breach of his own ceasefire
Some see in his willingness even to contemplate such a move a sign that he might be ready to agree to a peace deal. But Easter was a convenient point at which to try to keep a gullible US president on board amid indications that Donald Trump was losing patience with the Russian leader.
Mr Trump said he could end the war in a day, or at least by Easter, yet has palpably failed on both counts. He proposed a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine agreed to, but Moscow did not unless a long list of conditions, unacceptable to Kyiv, were met.
At the weekend, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said there would be little point continuing with the process if Putin remained so stubborn. At which point the Easter truce was announced.
It is hard not to see this as another attempt by the Kremlin to string Mr Trump along and separate Washington further from Ukraine where there are fears the Americans will lose interest and stop arms supplies and assistance.
The greatest insult after three years of bombardment is for the Russian leader to claim he was acting out of “humanitarian” considerations. If that were so he would stop the conflict today and withdraw his forces.
Volodymyr Zelensky said that while the Russian army was attempting to create the general impression of a ceasefire there were still isolated attempts to advance in some areas. Moscow denied this and accused Ukraine of violations, doubtless hoping this is the message heard in Washington.
Optimists detect in the truce the fruits of weeks of high-level diplomacy between the White House and the Kremlin. US envoy Steve Witkoff has met Putin three times in two months. The Kremlin leader’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev flew to Washington recently.
But if the ceasefire is well meant, why did it only happen when it seemed as if the Americans were about to pull the plug on the whole process?
It can at least be seen as a concession from a Russian leader who has implacably refused to contemplate any compromise. But Putin does nothing that is not calculated to further his interests and further divide the West, whose support for Ukraine, once so full-throated, is increasingly half-hearted.
It was all bullshit as always from this fiend.
Let us remind ourselves that the Bible has words about putler :
“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
The bible quote about lying fits both, the vampire and the FLUFF … fat, loony, undesirable, fatuous felon in the White House.
Comment from :
James Canning
Putin adroitly exploits Trump’s ignorance and stupidity, and greed. Putin wants complete control of Ukraine, and Trump & Co are encouraging him to think this is within reach.
Trevor Smallwood
Reply to James Canning
Exactly and because Trump wants his relationship with Vlad over his responsibilities to US foreign policy and security he may be prepared to be even more duplicitous.
Keith Kellogg told Europe/Ukraine last week to be prepared to cope with the worst of outcomes. I think that may have been an honest warning from an honest man who is positioned to know how the wind blows.
Vought Crusader
We have a problem here in that Trump & Co (formerly the USA) have a CEO and a Number 2, both of them are slightly shall we say dim, and they have surrounded themselves with a bunch of muppets who couldn’t run a tap. They are trying to perform on the World stage, and quite frankly, they are an embarrassment to the rest of the World
A filthy, stinking troll :
Jonathan Green
Whatever Putin does, one can rely upon the DT to put it in the worst possible light. The unexpected unilateral Easter truce declared by the Russian leader cannot be viewed as a gesture of good will. Heaven forfend! No, this newspaper’s editors must ascribe it to some nasty ulterior motive.
Worse, according to the subject editorial, it’s an “insult” – presumably to all of humanity – for Putin to ‘claim he was acting out of “humanitarian” considerations.’ The Telegraph View is that Putin cannot make such a claim unless he would do what probably no leader of a nation has done in human history – to cease fighting a war that he believes was a last resort when his attempts to engage in dialog (with the US and NATO) failed, that he views as existential to the survival of his nation, and which he is winning.
Let there be no doubt: The Telegraph will find a reason to condemn Putin no matter what he does. Similarly, no matter how many times Zelensky refuses to consider compromise for peace, no matter how often he voices his hatred and contempt for Putin or how duplicitous Zelensky’s behavior, The Telegraph will not criticize but will instead praise him.
Vought Crusader
Reply to Jonathan Green –
Not to put too fine a point on it old bean, you are either part of Putin’s propaganda mob or just a simple communist sympathiser.
Think about this: We are stupid enough to allow you the freedom to express your views here. Try the reverse in Russia.
Bar stewards like you should be sent packing
This newspaper won’t even let me call you what I would like to.
Dario O’Grady
Just like Israel, Ukraine was attacked by despotic leadership hell bent on the genocidal eradication of a whole nation, in Israel’s case they have been under attack for 70 years. Ukraine has been resisting the kremlin’s military assault for 11 years, but terror assaults for over 20 years, first with the poisoning of one of its presidents and later fabricated evidence and lies and corruption, the same corruption that is present in Hungary and Slovakia. Russian lies have captured the crazies in america, God help us all.
Andrew Darbyshire
Trump is certainly not using the ‘Art of the deal’ tactics with Putin. How long will it take before the American public realise that Trump is compromised? What happens then?
Kent Gent
Reply to Andrew Darbyshire
Sadly I don’t think Americans care that Trump supports the vicious aggressor and that’s so dangerous for peace in Europe.
Trevor Smallwood
Reply to Kent Gent
I’m pretty sure many Americans do care and are also troubled by Trump’s authoritarian attitudes and behaviour.
Trouble is it’s going to take some time to digest Trump and Ukraine needs prompt support. Europe can and should do this and there will be help from the Ramstein group.
It really is time to grasp the nettle, support Ukraine and face Russia down.
Tim Tookey
Who ever believed Putin, who ever would? No brainer.
The latest sinister development is Trump might agree to Putin ‘safeguarding’ Iran’s enriched uranium. Conflict of interest? Will Putin demand favours in return, such as easing of sanctions?
The rotten can of worms is getting more and more toxic.
Michael Cocks
Most normal people (not Trump) and certainly those with a military background know that Putin is a despicable, untrustworthy, greedy little despot driven by the KGB Ladybird Book of Russian Imperialism: he will be expunged when the Russian gangsters realise he is a liability.
Some quotes above mention the American people. I can assure you all that most Americans are against the orange felon. We’ve already had two nationwide protests against him, which is an absolute record in our history, considering the time frame. Once the effects of his trade war sinks deeper into our economy and pocket books, expect the hate for him to grow. Only this will bring the spineless Congressmen and women back into reality and to start opposing this mini fascist. Maybe we’ll even see an impeachment.