The Chernehif region, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine said it would likely respond to any real endowment by Moscow, but expressed suspicion after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the temporary Easter truce in Ukraine starting on Saturday.
The announcement issued by Kiev came when Russia and Ukraine made the largest exchange of prisoners since it began to invade Moscow on a large scale more than three years ago. Putin announced the temporary ceasefire on Easter in Ukraine, starting on Saturday, citing humanitarian reasons. According to Kremlin, the ceasefire will continue from 6 pm Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday to midnight (2100 GMT) after Easter.
Putin has not provided any details on how to monitor the ceasefire or whether he would cover air strikes or continuous ground battles that are angry around the clock.
Ukrainian President Folodimir Zelinski said if Russia is really ready to monitor the full and unconditional ceasefire, Ukraine will reflect this approach and only strike in defense.
He said that such a gesture, especially during the Easter holiday, could reveal the real intentions of Moscow.
“If the full shooting stop is really, Ukraine suggests its extension beyond Easter on April 20,” Zelinski said at Telegram. “This will reveal the real intentions of Russia, as 30 hours are sufficient for the main headlines, but not for the measures of building real confidence.”
Zelenskyy added that, according to military reports, Russian attacks and artillery fire continued along parts of the 1000 km front line (600 miles).
In response to the announcement of the ceasefire, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrei Sibha said that Kiev had “unwillingly or conditioned on the American suggestion for the temporary shooting for 30 days,” which was rejected by Russia.
“Putin has now made statements about his alleged shooting for a ceasefire. 30 hours instead of 30 days,” he followed, and wrote on X. “Unfortunately, we had a long history of his statements that did not match his actions.”
The announcement of the ceasefire of Putin came after US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia were “coming to its head” and insisted that there is no “playing” in a boost to end the criminal war for three years.
The biggest prisoner exchange so far
Meanwhile, the two sides exchanged hundreds of prisoners on Saturday. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that 246 members of the Russian service were returned from Ukraine, and 31 Ukrainian thermal families were transported in exchange for 15 Russian soldiers in need of urgent medical care.
Zelinski said that the Ukrainian “Warriors” returned to the homeland of Russian families.
Both sides thanked the United Arab Emirates for their mediation.
The Coordination headquarters in Ukraine to treat the war prisoners on Friday said that most of the Ukrainians who released them in the last exchange of prisoners are young men born after 2000.
Outside a hospital in the northern Chirnhif region of Ukraine, where the prisoners of war were recently brought after the exchange of the border, dozens of relatives stood waiting.
Among them was Natalia Luhavnushuk, 48, who rushed towards the bus at the moment she arrived. She had not seen her son three years ago, since he was captured during the battle for Mariopol in the spring of 2022.
Her son, Ihor Lohvynchuk, 23, lost about 40 kilograms (88 rugs) in captivity. He quietly said: “He still does not feel reality.” “We are not really here yet. We all returned, but we are still here.
His mother, who beat passion and embraced her son, issued an appeal: “We invite the entire world, in every country – help us bring all our children home.”
Thousands of prisoners of war remain in captivity. The stock exchange is the fourth this year and 63 since the beginning of the full invasion of Russia.
Since the outbreak of the war, a total of 4,552 Ukrainians, military and civilians have been returned from families.
Russia says that its forces have regained almost all of your corses
On Saturday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces that paid the Ukrainian forces from the village of Olisia, one of its last remaining foothold in the Russian Kursk region, where the Ukrainians organized a sudden penetration last year.
Girassimov said on Saturday in a report to Putin, reported by Russian government media, that Russia has recovered almost all lands from the Ukrainian forces.
“The main part of the region’s region has been liberated, where the invasion happened, this is 1260 square kilometers, 99.5 %,” said Gerasimov.
Zelenskyy wrote on X that the Ukrainian forces “continued their activity on the lands of the Kursk region and occupy their positions.” Ukraine has also claimed that it carries a presence outside the Kursk region in Russian territory with the aim of preventing the attack in the Sumi region and fighting on the soil of the enemy.
The Associated Press was unable to verify the claim immediately from Russia.
According to the Russian government news agency, Russia is still fighting to remove the Ukrainian forces from the village of Gornal, about 7 miles (11 km) south of Oleshnya.
In other developments, the Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russia fired 87 drones and went out in the latest wave of attacks during the night until Saturday. 33 of them said they were intercepted and 36 others were lost, after they were jammed electronically.
The government emergency service in Ukraine said on Saturday that Russian attacks were damaged by farms in the Odessa region and caused fires in the Sumi region during the night. The fires were contained, and no victims were reported.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that its air defense systems had shot down two Ukrainian drones overnight until Saturday.
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