Russia Shatters Easter Truce Accord as Moscow Perpetuates Bombing of Civilian Targets

So much for Russian promises.

After Russia’s fuhrer Vladimir Putin reluctantly agreed to an Easter ceasefire, Russia has violated the announced truce more than 400 times since it took effect at 4:00 p.m. local time, Ukraine's General Staff said April 11.

"After 16:00, 469 ceasefire violations were recorded," the General Staff said in a statement. The alleged violations include 22 enemy assault actions, 153 instances of shelling, 19 kamikaze drone strikes, and 275 FPV drone strikes.

According to the General Staff cited by Ukrainian news media, 101 combat clashes were also recorded along the front lines since the start of the day.

The hours leading up to the Christian holy day resembled a run-of-mill day, when Russia maintained its day and nightly bombing of civilian targets across Ukraine. Every targeted city and building resulted in civilian deaths. 

This Russian lie on a religious holy day as it perpetuates its airborne strikes against Ukrainian town is one of the key reasons why Kyiv officials demand strict security guarantees.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the Kremlin's latest announcement by reiterating Ukraine's position.

"Ukraine has repeatedly stated that we are ready for mirror steps. We proposed a ceasefire for the Easter holidays this year and will act accordingly," Zelenskyy said.

In his nightly address on April 11, Zelenskyy added that Ukraine is prepared to extend the ceasefire but warned that any violations by Russia would be met with a proportional response.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said his country was proposing that ⁠strikes should not resume after Easter, and he drew a parallel with the two-week ceasefire in the conflict between ⁠the United States, Israel and Iran.

“We believe that a ceasefire is the right strategy to advance diplomatic efforts – whether we are talking about the Middle East or Russian aggression against Ukraine,” he said.

The violations again demonstrated that Russia can’t live up to its promises. The ceasefire was set to run from 4 p.m. April 11 through the end of April 12.

In the southern city of Odesa, a man and a woman were killed in a large-scale Russian attack on the night of 10-11 April, according to local authorities. The woman was 38 years old and the man was 32. A 69-year-old woman has been injured and is currently in hospital.

One person has been killed and one injured in a Russian attack on the Lubny district in Poltava Oblast. A shop and a café have been damaged, according to Vitalii Diakivnych, Head of Poltava Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram. Diakivnych said that the Russians had attacked the Lubny district. 

Russian drone and artillery strikes also killed at least three civilians and wounded several others across the Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions on Saturday morning, April 11, local officials reported.

In the Kherson region, a 73-year-old woman was killed in the village of Fedorivka when a “Molniya” type drone struck the settlement around 9:30 AM. Earlier that morning, the body of a 50-year-old man was discovered in Kherson’s Korabelny district, a victim of overnight shelling.

The morning also saw targeted attacks on civilian transport in Kherson. A 24-year-old nurse was hospitalized with a concussion and blast injuries after a drone hit a public bus at 7:20 AM. Shortly after, a 61-year-old man was wounded when another drone targeted his car.

In Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region, a 67-year-old truck driver was killed on the spot when Russian FPV drones struck two transport vehicles. Regional Military Administration Head Oleksandr Hanzha confirmed the attack, which also caused a fire that destroyed the vehicles.

The escalation in strikes on Saturday morning followed a massive overnight drone offensive that killed two people in Odesa and wounded 17 in Sumy. In total, the Ukrainian Air Force reported 160 drones launched across the country overnight.

This is more evidence that Russia is not interested in peace in Ukraine and evacuating its cutthroats. This also raises the troubling question about America’s loyalties. It is apparent that Ukraine does not enjoy Washington’s favor. Ukrainian American voters won’t forget this on Election Day.