The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, called the announcement of the “Easter ceasefire” an information operation by Russia aimed at creating an illusion of peace and distracting attention from real combat actions. According to him, this step is part of a typical Russian tactic where a ceasefire is announced only to be violated later.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Facts and Historical Context
Kovalenko emphasized that a similar situation occurred during the Christmas holidays of 2023, when Moscow announced a ceasefire but did not actually adhere to it. “Putin decided to announce an order to cease fire for two days within an hour, hoping that Ukraine would violate it, that Ukraine would somehow be set up, and then tell the United States that Russia is the main peacemaker, wanting peace, while Ukraine does not. This is a banal typical Russian tactic,” he noted.
He added that assault actions continue despite the announced ceasefire. “I can’t imagine what they will be doing on the front now, how this order will look. According to my information, the enemy forces have continued certain assault actions and are still doing so,” the head of the CCD reported.
Developments and Reactions from World Leaders
On April 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the “Easter ceasefire,” establishing a ceasefire regime from 6:00 PM on April 19 to midnight on April 21. According to him, Russian military forces must be ready to repel “possible violations of the ceasefire.” However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called this statement an attempt to play with people’s lives and emphasized that during this time, air alerts were ongoing in several regions of Ukraine.