On Friday, many Ukrainians expressed skepticism regarding Russia’s announcement of a ceasefire during the Orthodox Easter weekend, a proposal initially made by Kyiv. The Kremlin declared a temporary halt in hostilities would occur from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening, lasting for 32 hours, during which Russian forces would cease operations “in all directions.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has consistently advocated for a ceasefire throughout the ongoing conflict, indicated that Ukraine would be prepared to respond in kind.<\/p>\n
However, there was doubt in Kyiv about whether Russia would adhere to this commitment. Yevgeniy Lamakh, a 29-year-old IT specialist, remarked to AFP, “No one believes these fairytales anymore. The Russian military has a history of dishonesty. They often say one thing while doing another.” Dmytro Sova, a 42-year-old actor, echoed this sentiment, noting the ongoing attacks: “Today… Shaheds and missiles are still striking Ukraine. If a ceasefire is to begin, why continue the assaults?”<\/p>\n
Just before the Orthodox Easter truce was set to commence, two nighttime Russian strikes resulted in one fatality and left 15 others injured. These attacks included a drone strike targeting a store and a caf\u00e9 in the central town of Poltava, which caused one death and another injury, according to Vitalii Diakivnych, the head of the regional military administration, via Telegram. In the northeastern Sumy region, which borders Russia, drone strikes on residential areas resulted in injuries to 14 individuals, including a 14-year-old boy and an 87-year-old woman, as reported by Oleg Grygorov, the regional military administrator.<\/p>\n
Moscow has dismissed calls from Kyiv for a longer-term, unconditional ceasefire, asserting that it seeks a comprehensive peace agreement instead. Negotiations mediated by the United States have stagnated, primarily due to disputes over the eastern regions of Ukraine, which remain partially under Russian control and which Moscow wishes Ukraine to surrender. Last year, a ceasefire was also observed for Orthodox Easter, but the current situation remains fraught with challenges as efforts to resolve the conflict continue to stall amid shifting U.S. focus towards the Middle East.<\/p>\n
In related news, the Trump administration is expected to extend a waiver on Friday that permits certain countries to purchase sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products. This waiver, initially granted in mid-March, is part of an initiative to stabilize global energy prices amid the ongoing conflict involving the U.S. and Israel against Iran. However, this decision has faced criticism from various political figures who argue it undermines efforts to limit Russia’s financial resources for its military actions in Ukraine and could create tensions with U.S. allies.<\/p>\n
In another development, a Russian court has placed Oleg Roldugin, a journalist from the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, in pre-trial detention until May 10, following a police raid on the paper’s Moscow offices. Roldugin was arrested after reporting on alleged corruption involving high-ranking Russian officials, including former President Dmitry Medvedev and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Since the onset of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Russia has intensified its crackdown on independent media.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Estonia, a NATO member, has decided against detaining Russian “shadow fleet” vessels in the Baltic Sea. A senior military official expressed concerns that seizing oil tankers and other sanctioned ships could provoke a military response from Moscow. In contrast, the UK and several European nations, including France, Belgium, and Sweden, have escalated efforts to capture aging tankers used by Russia to fund its ongoing war in Ukraine. Estonia, being the closest Baltic state to Russia’s primary oil and fuel export terminals in the Gulf of Finland, is exercising caution following a failed attempt to board a Russian ship last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Friday, many Ukrainians expressed skepticism regarding Russia’s announcement of a ceasefire during the Orthodox Easter weekend, a proposal initially made by Kyiv. The Kremlin declared a temporary halt in hostilities would occur from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening, lasting for 32 hours, during which Russian forces would cease operations “in all directions.” Ukrainian President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[261,1708,141,567,88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-donald-trump","category-uk-estonia","category-uk-russia","category-uk-ukraine","category-uk"],"yoast_head":"\n