Zelensky of Ukraine instructs the army to respond kindly to renew the Russian attack.
The Russian troops resumed military operations against Ukraine following the expiration date of the 30-hour ceasefire on April 21.
“As the end of the armistice, the Russian troops continued their special military operations,” Moscow’s defense ministry said of the ongoing invasion of eastern Ukraine.
Hours after the truce ended, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had fired many missiles and drones into Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkassy regions.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, most incoming drones were successfully neutralised by air defense batteries.
Ukrainian officials said there has been no death, injury or serious material damage so far due to the renewed Russian attack.
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Officials from the Ukrainian port city of Mikolife said that Russian missiles had hit the city, but there were no reports of serious material damage.
After the ceasefire burning expired, Ukrainian President Volodymiazelensky said Kiev’s troops were instructed to respond kindly to the fresh Russian attack.
“The nature of Ukraine’s actions remains symmetrical. Cerez-fires are filled with ceasefires, and Russian strikes are filled with our own defense,” he wrote on social media platform X.
“Action is always more eloquent than words.”
Zelesnkyy wrote earlier on the messaging platform, saying that Ukrainian forces had reported almost 3,000 ceasefire violations from Russia during the 30-hour ceasefire period.
According to Ukrainian leaders, most violations occurred near Pokrovsk’s frontline cities, in the form of artillery and infantry attacks.
Moscow claimed on the evening of April 20 that Ukrainian forces repeatedly attacked Russia’s frontline position in the eastern Donetsk region despite the ceasefire.
“The result is civilian casualties and injuries, and civilian objects are damaged,” the press alleged.
The Epoch Times were unable to independently verify claims by both sides of the dispute, which entered its third year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with the chief of the general staff of the Russian military in Moscow on April 19, 2025. Vyacheslav prokofyev/pooln/afp via Getty Images
The war could end this week: Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally announced the Easter ceasefire at a meeting with Russian military chief of staff Valerie Gerasimov on April 19, a day before Easter.
It was the second unilateral ceasefire announced by Russia since 2022 when Moscow invaded and effectively annexed herds in eastern Ukraine.
In 2023, Putin announced a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire to mark the Christmas holiday the Russian Orthodox Church observes on January 7th.
On April 19, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the US could abandon its peace-building efforts in the absence of clear indications of progress.
On April 20, the US State Department expressed hope that Russia’s unilateral Easter ceasefire could be extended further.
On the same day, Trump, who was re-elected with a pledge to end the conflict, said “hopefully” Russia and Ukraine will reach a settlement “this week.”
“Then both start big corporations with the United States. It’s thriving and generating wealth,” he writes with all caps on the true social messaging platform.
Reuters contributed to this report.
