A 30-day pause – which didn’t seem to materialize – on Russian strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, ordered by President Vladimir Putin, has expired, the Kremlin said Friday, April 18.
Ukraine and Russia have technically agreed to implement a ceasefire against each other’s energy infrastructure, though in practice, there’s been no common agreement between the two.
“The month has indeed expired,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a conference call.
“As of now, there have been no new instructions from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Putin,” he added.
The Kremlin unilaterally claimed that the ceasefire had started on March 18, on the day Trump spoke by phone with Putin about the ceasefire.
However, no formal agreement between Moscow and Kyiv was announced, and there are conflicting accounts of when the commitments took effect.
Both sides accused the other of alleged ceasefire violations following the talks and agreements, while the ceasefire’s imprecise details have made it difficult to apportion blame for breaches.
On Wednesday, just hours before the pause was set to expire, the Kremlin declined to say whether a 30-day moratorium on strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure would be extended.
“We’ll keep you informed. I am not yet ready to tell you what decision has been made,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked to confirm when Putin’s order would expire.
Ukrainian officials also reported a surge in casualties during the moratorium period. According to Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, the Russian military killed nearly 2.5 times more Ukrainians during the 22 days of the “energy ceasefire” than in the same timeframe prior to its announcement.