Ukraine asks Russia to halt strikes on civilian targets for 30 days

Ukraine on Sunday accused Russia of breaking Putin’s surprise 30-hour Easter truce with continued assaults along front line

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A building hit by Russian military strikes in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine on Saturday. Photo: Press Service of the 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces / Handout via Reuters

Published: 10:47pm, 19 Apr 2025Updated: 5:37am, 21 Apr 2025

Ukraine proposes that Russia abandon drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure for at least 30 days, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.

“If Russia does not agree to such a step, it will be proof that it intends to continue doing only those things which destroy human lives and prolong the war,” Zelensky said on social media.

Zelensky earlier on Sunday said Russian forces were continuing their shelling and assaults along the front line despite Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing a surprise but brief Easter truce.

“The Russian army has violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times,” Zelensky said on social media on Sunday. But he added that there had been “no air raid alerts today” and proposed “to cease any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure for a period of at least 30 days”.

Putin’s 30-hour truce would have been the most significant pause in the fighting throughout the three-year conflict.

But just hours after the order was meant to have come into effect, air-raid sirens sounded in Kyiv and several other Ukrainian regions, with Zelensky accusing Russia of having maintained its attacks.

“Across various frontline directions, there have already been 59 cases of Russian shelling and five assaults by Russian units,” Zelensky said on social media, citing a report as of 6am from Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky.