 "Putin confirms Easter ceasefire is over, says Moscow open to peace but urges Kyiv to reciprocate")
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said that fighting in Ukraine has resumed following the Easter ceasefire, reiterating that Moscow remains open to peace initiatives and called on Kyiv to show a similar willingness to engage in dialogue.
Both Ukraine and Russia accused each other of thousands of strikes and violating the Kremlin’s unilateral ceasefire during the Easter celebrations.
“We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative, especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days,” Reuters quoted Putin as saying to state TV.
“We have always talked about this, that we have a positive attitude towards any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way,” he added.
Washington had said it would welcome an extension of the truce, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated several times Ukraine’s willingness to agree a pause strikes on civilian infrastructure for 30 days in the war.
Meanwhile, at least three people were killing in the southern Kherson region after Russia resumed its attacks on Ukraine following a 30-hour Easter ceasefire.
In a statement on Monday, Russia’s military said it was continuing “the special military operation”. Over the weekend Russian troops “strictly observed” the pause in fighting, it claimed.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe ceasefire expired at midnight on Monday. The announcement means the Kremlin has rejected an offer – made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and endorsed on Sunday by the US state department – to extend the truce by 30 days.
Zelenskyy said he had proposed a “complete, full and honest ceasefire”.
He suggested both sides refrain from carrying out strikes with missiles and drones against civilian infrastructure.
“The nature of Ukrainian actions will continue to be mirrored: we will respond to silence with silence, our strikes will be to protect against Russian strikes. Actions always speak louder than words,” he posted on X.
Putin said Moscow would consider the Ukrainian ceasefire proposal, but accused Kyiv of using civilian sites for military purposes.
With inputs from agencies
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