Ukraine ambush highlights futility of Putin's proposed truce
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, revealed that Ukrainian soldiers encountered a Russian ambush in the Toretsk area. Some servicemen have been killed. The Russian soldiers responsible for this will be eliminated," he declared in a network post.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced an Easter truce in the conflict with Ukraine, which was supposed to last for 30 hours—from 11 AM ET on Saturday to 5 PM on Sunday. Shortly after the truce was supposed to begin, the head of the Ukrainian government’s Center for Counteracting Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, reported that Russian forces continued their attacks on Ukrainian positions.
Zelensky, in a statement, described the situation based on data from the report by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi. The report indicates that despite Putin’s announcement of a ceasefire, Russian forces continued to intensify their use of heavy weaponry along the front lines throughout Sunday.
The Ukrainian president highlighted that "Putin's words about a 'ceasefire' turned out to be hollow."
Zelensky also mentioned that Ukrainian soldiers fell into a Russian ambush.
"In the Toretsk area, unfortunately, our soldiers encountered a Russian ambush. There are casualties. The Russian soldiers responsible for this attack will be dealt with," he wrote on social media.
Fighting continued during the truce
The Russian Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of violating the terms of the Easter truce. According to Russia, the Ukrainian armed forces shelled Russian positions 444 times and conducted 900 drone attacks. The Russians claim that these actions resulted in civilian casualties and injuries.
The Ukrainian armed forces strongly deny Russia's accusations. They assert that their actions were simply a response to Russian attacks that began right after Putin announced the truce.
