Putin: Easter Truce Ends, Russia Will Reflect on Its Impact
14:35 GMT 21.04.2025 (Updated: 14:43 GMT 21.04.2025)
© Sputnik / Ramil Sitdikov
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The fighting resumed after the Easter truce, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
The Easter truce announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin was in effect from 6:00 p.m. Moscow time (15:00 GMT) on Saturday until midnight from Sunday to Monday (21:00 GMT on Sunday). Putin said that he assumed that Ukraine would follow Russia's example, but noted that Russian troops must be prepared to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy.
"The fighting has resumed, we said this from the very beginning when we announced the truce," Putin told reporters.
Russia has always respected truces and that is why it proposed such an idea, Putin said, adding that Moscow will reflect on the experience of declaring Easter truce.
Almost 5,000 violations of the Easter truce by the Ukrainian armed forces were recorded, but in general there was a decrease in activity, Vladimir Putin said.
"In general, we see a decrease in combat activity on the part of the enemy, this is true. These are assessments, including those of our group commanders. Nevertheless, there were almost 5,000 violations - 4,900. Six attacks and 90 attempted attacks by aircraft-type UAVs, I think 1,400 artillery shelling. But in general, there was still a decrease in activity," Putin stressed.
Kiev is trying to seize the initiative on a truce and talk about expanding the scope of targets, Vladimir Putin added.
"Now we see that the Kiev regime is trying to intercept and talk about expanding the scope both in terms of time and targets," Putin underscored.
Kiev's Western handlers prompted its leadership not to reject the Easter truce initiative, Putin stressed.
On Sumy Strike: Kiev Turns Civilians Sites Into Military Targets
The proposal to refrain from strikes on Russian and Ukrainian civilian infrastructure facilities needs to be examined, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"As for the proposal not to strike civilian infrastructure, this should be examined ... We will analyze it and make a corresponding decision," Putin told.
The Kiev regime uses civilian facilities for military purposes, the president said, adding that Russia's strike on Sumy on April 15 targeted the building of the Sumy University, a civilian facility, which, however, was used by Ukrainian forces to host an award ceremony for those who committed crimes in Russia's border regions.
"Those were the people whom we consider criminals, who should have received deserved retribution for what they have done in [Russia's] border area, including in the Kursk Region, and they have faced this retribution," the Russian leader added.
Kiev, together with foreign curators, tried to organize a test of missile systems at a civilian facility in the Odessa region, Russian President stressed.
"Quite recently, a few days ago, our armed forces struck in the Odessa region. This is a small town in the Odessa region, 82 kilometers [50 miles], in my opinion, from Odessa. So what is this target? Agricultural facilities, hangars, and agricultural enterprises. There, the Kiev authorities, together with foreign curators and assistants, organized and tried to organize not only the production, but also the testing of a new missile system. That is where we carried out a strike. Is this a civilian facility or not? It was civilian, but it was used for military purposes," Putin told reporters.
