Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Kyiv is offering Russia a 30-day ceasefire with the option to extend, calling for a genuine break in hostilities during the Easter period.
In a Telegram post on Sunday evening, April 20, Zelensky reported that as of 8:00 p.m., over 2,000 violations of Russia’s so-called “Easter truce” had been recorded: 67 Russian assaults across various sectors, 1,355 shelling or bombardment incidents (713 with heavy weapons), and 673 FPV drone strikes.
“On all major frontline sectors, Russia failed to uphold its own promise of silence,” Zelensky said. “They didn’t even last a full day after our Ukrainian offer of complete silence, starting now, from Easter, and for 30 days.”
He added, however, that there were no airstrikes in Ukraine on Sunday, calling it “the format of silence that has been achieved and is easiest to continue.”
Ukraine’s proposal includes refraining from any long-range drone or missile strikes on civilian infrastructure for at least 30 days, with the possibility of extension.
“If Russia does not agree to such a step, it will be proof that it wants to continue doing only what destroys people’s lives and prolongs the war,” Zelensky wrote.
On Sunday, Russia accused Ukraine of violating the ceasefire, despite continuing to attack Ukrainian cities and launch assaults on Ukrainian positions.
Later, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had not given a command to extend the truce.
By the early morning of April 21, Zelensky shared an update that Russia had violated its own declared ceasefire 2,935 times. He reported 96 Russian assault actions, 1,882 shelling incidents (812 involving heavy weapons), and over 950 FPV drone attacks, with the Pokrovsk and Kursk sectors seeing the highest activity.
“The nature of Ukrainian actions will be mirrored. We will respond to silence with silence, and our strikes will be a defense against Russian strikes,” he said. “Actions always speak louder than words.”