The Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, has assured that Russia will resume its military offensives against Ukraine as soon as the truce decreed for Orthodox Easter concludes, the end of which is scheduled for this midnight. At the same time, he has again urged the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, to end the conflict by accepting the conditions set by Moscow, which Kyiv considers unacceptable, recalling that the war could end "today" if he accepted them.
"We want a lasting peace. And lasting peace will be achieved when we guarantee our interests and reach the objectives we set from the beginning. This can be done today," Peskov has stated.
Among the demands put forward by Russia are requirements that Zelensky describes as completely unacceptable, such as the recognition of Russian sovereignty over the territories occupied since the beginning of the invasion, as well as formal commitments that Ukraine will renounce its aspiration to join NATO.
In statements released by the TASS agency, Peskov has insisted that "Zelensky must make a series of decisions that seem obvious to me, and when he does so we will move towards peace." "But, until he gathers the necessary courage to assume this responsibility, the operation in Ukraine will continue once the ceasefire expires," he concluded.
Parallelly, both Kyiv and Moscow have denounced this Sunday that the truce has barely been respected, mutually accusing each other of having violated the ceasefire with around 2,000 violations by each side during the period of cessation of hostilities.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has reported that, from 4:00 PM on Saturday, when the truce came into effect, until 7:00 AM this Sunday, 120 clashes and 2,299 violations of the ceasefire have been recorded. In turn, the Russian Ministry of Defense has blamed Ukraine for 1,971 ceasefire violations in the first 16 hours of its validity, between 4:00 PM on Saturday and 8:00 AM on Sunday.