Putin's Easter truce: Scepticism grows amid ongoing clashes
The sudden announcement of an "immediate truce" by Vladimir Putin on Holy Saturday took the world by surprise. However, experts remain sceptical, viewing this not as a gesture of goodwill but as a political manoeuvre that could undermine the idea of peace rather than support it.
According to CNN, if Ukraine's allies required evidence of "Moscow’s wild cynicism when it comes to peace", then "the announcement of an immediate truce for Easter provided just that."
The truce announcement came just a few hours after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump stated that they urgently needed a sign that the Kremlin is serious about peace in the coming days.
According to CNN, for Russia's supporters, President Vladimir Putin's Saturday statement might have appeared as a nod to Trump. However, the sudden declaration is riddled with practical shortcomings and will likely be used by Putin to sustain the false narrative that Kyiv does not wish to end the war.
"It will be a logistical nightmare for Ukraine’s forces to suddenly, immediately stop fighting at Putin’s behest. Some frontline positions may be in the middle of fierce clashes when this order comes through, and a cessation of this nature likely requires days of preparation and readiness," the analysis states.
The report suggests that disinformation will inevitably cause confusion among soldiers: it will be unclear how the truce is to be executed, how to report violations or respond to them, and what to do once the ceasefire concludes.
"It is possible this moment will prove a rare sign that both sides can stop violence for a short period. But it is significantly more likely they will both use violations and confusion to show their opponent cannot be trusted. As of Saturday evening local time, Ukrainian officials said Russian strikes had continued in frontline areas," it states.
On Sunday morning, both sides accused each other of shelling Donetsk. Plumes of smoke rose over the city, and explosions were heard.
CNN reminds us that a 30-day truce concerning attacks on energy infrastructure also originated under conditions of "complete chaos".
The White House announced that it included "energy and infrastructure", the Kremlin stated that it had immediately halted attacks on "energy infrastructure", and Ukraine reported that the ceasefire began a week later than the Kremlin claimed.
As the analysis states, a genuine truce requires negotiations with the opponent and thorough preparation for it to materialise.
"The sudden rush of this seems designed entirely to placate White House demands for some sign that Russia is willing to stop fighting. It will likely feed Trump’s at-times pro-Moscow framing of the conflict. It may also cause complexities for Ukraine when they are inevitably accused of violating what Washington may consider to be a goodwill gesture by Moscow" - it is emphasised.
