From: Transform Ukraine By Douglas Landro / April 21, 2025
As Putin Declares 30-Hour Easter Truce, Ukrainian Forces Document Thousands of Violations While Zelensky Proposes 30-Day Moratorium on Long-Range Strikes Against Civilian Infrastructure
Summary of the Day – April 20, 2025
The fragile Easter truce announced by Vladimir Putin shattered under the weight of reality as Ukrainian officials documented nearly 3,000 Russian ceasefire violations within the first 24 hours. While artillery thundered across multiple directions of the front, President Volodymyr Zelensky seized on Moscow’s restraint from long-range missile strikes to propose a 30-day moratorium on strikes against civilian infrastructure. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Russia had no plans to extend the temporary truce beyond its expiration, while U.S. President Donald Trump suggested economic incentives for both nations to reach a peace deal quickly. On this holy day for Orthodox Christians, the stark contrast between Putin’s pious declarations and Russia’s actions on the battlefield highlighted the necessity for any future ceasefire to include robust monitoring mechanisms and clearly defined terms.
Truce In Name Only: Ukrainian Forces Document Systematic Russian Violations
By April 20, Ukrainian authorities had documented nearly 3,000 violations—96 Russian assaults on Ukrainian positions, 1,882 instances of shelling, and 950 deployments of Russian first-person-view (FPV) drones.
“In fact, on all the main directions of the front, Russia has not kept its own promise,” Zelensky said, citing a briefing from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. The heaviest fighting continued in the Pokrovsk and Siversk directions in Donetsk Oblast.
The Ukrainian General Staff’s April 20 situation report documented multiple ceasefire violations, including attacks near Toretsk, east of Toretsk near Druzhba, and southwest of Toretsk near Sukha Balka. Russian forces also reportedly attacked in unspecified areas of Kursk Oblast after the start of Russia’s Easter truce.
Voice of Ukraine 