Vladimir Putin's Easter truce cannot be trusted, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned, after Russia kept up its attacks on its neighbour in the face of its "ceasefire".
Putin had vowed earlier on Saturday that "all military operations" would come to a close until Easter Monday - but according to Ukraine's top commander, Russian artillery fire had not subsided hours later.
"As of now, according to the Commander-in-Chief reports, Russian assault operations continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided," Zelensky wrote on social media.
"Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow."
Putin had vowed earlier on Saturday that 'all military operations' would come to a close until Easter Monday
REUTERS
That came after he blasted how Russian drones were still hovering into Ukrainian airspace.
"Yet another attempt by Putin to play with human lives - at this moment, air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine," Zelensky said.
"At 5:15pm, Russian attack drones were detected in our skies. Ukrainian air defence and aviation have already begun working to protect us.
"Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin's true attitude toward Easter and toward human life."
Zelensky was joined in his outrage by a selection of high-ranking Ukrainian politicians.
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'Drones in our skies reveal Putin's true attitude toward Easter and toward human life,' Zelensky spat
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Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Kyiv had in March "agreed unconditionally to the US proposal of a full interim ceasefire for 30 days" - which Russia rejected.
"Putin has now made statements about his alleged readiness for a ceasefire. 30 hours instead of 30 days," Sybiha continued. "Unfortunately, we have had a long history of his statements not matching his actions."
While MP Lisa Yasko said air raid sirens sounded in Kyiv mere minutes after Putin's "truce" announcement.
"A ceasefire for one day, even if it happens, is like a joke," she told the BBC.
Yasko also warned that Putin's announcement could have been a tactical move by the Russian premier to appease the US.
Donald Trump just yesterday hinted that the Americans could walk away from peace negotiations if a deal was not reached quickly
GETTYDonald Trump just yesterday hinted that the Americans could walk away from peace negotiations if a deal was not reached quickly.
The President vowed he did not want to walk away from talks to end the war - but said "we will take a pass" if parties "make it difficult" to do so.
"We're going to get it [the war] stopped, ideally," Trump said. "Now if, for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say, you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people, and we're going to just take a pass."
"But hopefully we won't have to do that. And Marco [Rubio, Secretary of State]... is right in saying it, we want to see it end."
