Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Vladimir Putin’s declaration of a 30-hour “Easter truce” has “proven empty” after Russian attacks on Easter Sunday. Elsewhere, the UK has confirmed RAF jets intercepted Russian planes to defend NATO airspace this week. Follow the latest below.
Sunday 20 April 2025 19:08, UK
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Vladimir Putin’s “Easter truce” has been described as a “pass” to Donald Trump after he threatened that the US could abandon efforts to broker peace, a Ukrainian MP has said.
Speaking to Sky’s Barbara Serra, Kira Rudik said “the keys to ending the war are in Moscow”.
“We are not the problem, Russia is the problem,” she said.
“It’s much more complicated to put the pressure on them than us.”
But Rudik stated that the solution to ending the war must not be a “quick victory” – adding that attempts to reach an agreement are “complicated and hard”.
“The main question that is not answered as of right now is who or what will make sure that Putin will keep his side of the bargain,” Rudik added.
Watch the full interview below.
With just hours remaining until Vladimir Putin’s “Easter truce” comes to an end, it’s worth noting that we’ve only just received the first reaction from the US.
The state department said it would welcome an extension of the 30-hour truce, although the Kremlin has indicated this will not be ordered by Putin (see 4.54pm post).
But we’ve still not had any reaction from Donald Trump.
The US president is often quick to claim diplomatic wins, and there have been suggestions that his recent comments over threatening to abandon peace attempts could have led Putin to suddenly declare the truce (see 4.54pm post).
Trump has been active on his Truth Social account, although he’s been sharing Easter messages.
For context: Earlier this week, Trump said the US would “take a pass” on brokering peace talks between Russia and Ukraine if either side “makes it very difficult”.
Those comments came after his secretary of state Marco Rubio said that the US was going to “move on” from brokering peace unless there are clear signs of progress in the coming days.
Watch those comments from Rubio below.
It’s just gone 6pm in the UK, 8pm in Moscow and Kyiv.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know:
We’ve just brought you comments from the Kremlin indicating there will not be an extension to Vladimir Putin’s “Easter truce”.
It’s due to end at 10pm UK time, but the pause never really seemed to get off the ground.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have traded accusations of violating the 30-hour pause, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisting Ukraine would mirror Russia’s actions.
But the Ukrainian president also called for a longer 30-day pause to “give peace a chance” – and it’s not the first time it has been suggested.
Ukraine agreed to a US proposal of an unconditional 30-day ceasefire last month, with US secretary of state Marco Rubio stating the ball was in Russia’s court.
But Putin outlined a series of “questions” regarding the proposal, and went on to lay down his own demands.
Watch Putin’s response to a 30-day ceasefire proposal last month
However, there was an agreed 30-day pause on all strikes targeting energy infrastructure between both Ukraine and Russia.
Based on public statements, both countries appeared to agree to the moratorium, but within a few days Kyiv and Moscow traded accusations that the other side had not adhered to the ceasefire.
The agreement expired on 18 April and was not renewed.
There were also proposals for a ceasefire in the Black Sea. Ukraine viewed the deal as immediate but Russia insisted it would only start when certain sanctions on Russian firms were lifted.
As a result, it was another ceasefire that never really started – despite the Trump administration claiming a diplomatic win.
Vladimir Putin has not ordered to extend his Easter ceasefire, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
The comments reported by Russian news agency Tass come just hours before Putin’s 30-hour “Easter truce” is due to expire.
Russia’s president vowed to pause “all military operations” from 4pm UK time yesterday until 10pm UK time tonight – but both sides have since accused each other of violations.
Last night, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the proposal to be extended, claiming 30 hours was “enough to make headlines, but not for genuine confidence-building measures”.
He added that a 30-day pause “could give peace a chance”.
Vladimir Putin’s “Easter truce” announcement is an example of Russia trying to portray itself as an agreeable negotiating partner in response to recent US threats, analysts have said.
Earlier this week, Donald Trump said the US would “take a pass” on brokering peace talks between Russia and Ukraine if either side “makes it very difficult”.
Those comments came after his secretary of state Marco Rubio said that the US was going to “move on” from brokering peace unless there are clear signs of progress in the coming days.
But analysts at the Institute for the Study of War have said Putin’s declaration likely came as a direct response to those remarks.
“Russia is likely leveraging its unilateral implementation of a temporary truce in Ukraine to introduce informational conditions that will act as a pretext to support Russia’s continued efforts to undermine and discredit Ukraine,” they said.
The campaign assessment added that Russia is likely attempting to “curry favour” with the United States in response to the Trump administration’s comments.
Earlier today, we showed you how Ukrainians are doing what they can to celebrate their fourth Easter period while at war with Russia (see 7.43am post).
The occasion has also been marked on the frontline in Donetsk, with pictures showing a military chaplain spraying holy water on servicemen.
Soldiers also attended a service in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Russian forces targeted a Ukrainian volunteer’s vehicle while he was evacuating civilians in Russian-controlled Donetsk, according to reports.
The Kyiv Independent reports that volunteer Yevhen Tkachov was evacuating civilians from the village of Zoria when they were targeted by three first-person-view (FPV) drones.
“I turned on the emergency lights, got out of the car, and started waving my arms around to show that I was a civilian,” he told Ukrainska Pravda.
“Despite that, the drone struck just half a metre from my car. I motioned for the two cars behind me to go ahead, but I couldn’t drive myself anymore because my car wouldn’t start.”
In a statement this morning, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the number of FPV drones used by Russia has increased twofold during Vladimir Putin’s proposed Easter ceasefire (see 11.09am post).
We also brought you an update earlier this morning after several explosions were heard in Donetsk (see 9.34am post).
The TASS state news agency, citing local “operative services”, said at least three blasts were heard in the city, which has been under Russia’s control since 2014.
Another update to bring you now from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who says Vladimir Putin’s words about a ceasefire have “proven empty”.
Ukraine’s president has shared another report from commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, which notes that the “trend of increasing the use of heavy weaponry by Russian forces continues”.
From the start of today, the report says there have been a total of 46 Russian assaults “across various directions” and 901 instances of shelling, 448 of which involved heavy weaponry.
More than 400 cases of first-person-view (FPV) drone use by Russians have already been documented, it adds.
It also says Ukrainian troops fell into a Russian ambush in Toretsk, with some servicemen killed. Zelenskyy says the Russian soldiers responsible “will be eliminated”.
The latest update repeats the message that Ukraine will respond to Russia’s actions in a “fully symmetrical manner” – something Zelenskyy said in response to Putin’s truce announcement yesterday.
“The situation on the frontline shows that pressure on Moscow and real oversight of the actions of the occupying forces are needed for the ceasefire to be established.”
Vladimir Putin said Russia would cease “all military operations” for 30 hours when he announced his “Easter truce” yesterday – but that never seemed to get off the ground.
Kyiv said it would mirror Moscow’s actions, with “silence in response to silence” and “defensive strikes in response to attacks”, but both sides have been accusing the other of violating the pause in fighting.
So, how have those accusations unfolded?
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