Zelenskyy proposes 30-day halt on airstrikes targeting civilian infrastructure

Kyiv, April 21: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday (local time) proposed a 30-day pause on long-range drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure, noting that no air strikes were conducted by the Russian military during the Easter ceasefire despite committing over 2,000 other violations.

Accusing Russia of continuing its ground offensive despite declaring a ceasefire on Easter, Zelenskyy expressed optimism on a pause in air strikes and said that this format is "easiest to extend."

"Since the beginning of the day, the Russian army has violated Putin's ceasefire more than two thousand times," Zelenskyy wrote on X.

"However, there were no air raid alerts today. Hence, this is a format of ceasefire that has been achieved and that is the easiest to extend. Ukraine proposes to cease any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure for a period of at least 30 days, with the possibility of extension," he added.

Zelanskyy said that if Russia rejects this step, then its only intentions are to "destroy human lives and prolong the war."

"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," he said.

Additionally, Zelenskyy listed out the alleged 2,000 instances of violence, noting that 1,355 cases of Russian shelling, 67 cases of assault and use of FPVs (first-person view).

"There have already been 67 Russian assaults against our positions across various directions, with the highest number in the Pokrovsk direction. There were a total of 1,355 cases of Russian shelling, 713 of which involved heavy weaponry. The Russians also used FPVs 673 times," Zelenskyy said.

https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1914022645160399147

Earlier, both sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) accused Ukrainian troops of hitting Russian positions with guns and mortars 444 times.

The MFA wrote on X, "Russia's MoD: During the night of the #EasterCeasefire, the kiev regime launched 48 fixed-wing UAVs, including one over Crimea. Ukrainian troops hit Russian positions with guns and mortars 444 times, carried out 900 quadcopter-type drone strikes," the Russian MFA said in a post on X.

Zelenskyy reiterated that Russian forces had in fact intensified their attacks on Easter Day, despite President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a 30-hour ceasefire in observance of Easter.

This was the second ceasefire to be announced since the conflict began in 2022. The previous attempt, during Orthodox Christmas in January 2023, also failed after both sides were unable to agree on a proposal.

Reader Comments

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Michael T.

This seems like a reasonable proposal from Zelenskyy. If Russia truly wants peace, they should accept this 30-day pause as a first step. The fact they're still shelling while claiming ceasefire shows their true intentions. 😔

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Sarah K.

I hope this leads to something meaningful! The civilian infrastructure attacks have been devastating. 30 days without that would give people some breathing room to rebuild and recover.

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David P.

While I support Ukraine, I wonder if this proposal is realistic. Russia hasn't honored previous ceasefires, and ground attacks continue. Maybe focusing on protecting civilians while maintaining defense would be more practical?

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Anna L.

The numbers are staggering - 2000 violations in one day?! How can anyone trust Russia's word after this? Zelenskyy is being incredibly generous with this offer. Praying for peace 🙏

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Thomas R.

Interesting that both sides are reporting massive violations by the other. Makes you wonder if there's any neutral verification possible in war zones. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

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Olga M.

As someone with family in Ukraine, this news gives me hope. Even a temporary stop to the airstrikes would mean so much. My cousin's apartment building was hit last month - civilians shouldn't be targets!

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.