Russia and Ukraine trade blame over breach of ceasefire

MOSCOW/KYIV — Russia and Ukraine on Sunday accused each other of violating an Easter truce as US President Donald Trump surprisingly announced that the rivals could make a "deal" this week.

The 30-hour truce from Saturday, announced by Russia's President Vladimir Putin, had been meant to mark the holiday, but Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had carried out hundreds of front-line attacks.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said during this period, all units involved in the special military operation strictly adhered to the ceasefire and maintained their previously held positions.

Multiple attacks by Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region on Monday night were repelled by Russian troops, it added.

These attacks resulted in civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Zelensky said on social media: "The Russian army has violated Putin's ceasefire more than 2,000 times".

He had made a similar proposal at the beginning of the weekend in response to Putin's announcement of the Easter truce.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 96 drones and three missiles in overnight attacks targeting Ukraine, causing damage in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions.

Ukraine's air defense units shot down 42 Russian drones, and another 47 drones were redirected by electronic warfare.

Trump said on Friday that he would end US efforts to halt the fighting. Then on Sunday, he came out with a new startling announcement.

"Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week," he said in a short message on his Truth Social platform.

"Both will then start to do big business with the United States of America, which is thriving, and make a fortune," he added.

The Kremlin said on Monday that the position of Trump administration on ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine gave Moscow satisfaction, but declined to comment on Trump's hopes for a deal this week.

US envoy General Keith Kellogg said on Sunday that NATO membership was "off the table" for Ukraine.

Trump has repeatedly said previous US support for Ukraine's bid to join NATO was a cause of the fighting.

"We have heard from Washington at various levels that Ukraine's membership in NATO is excluded," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters." Of course, this is something that causes our satisfaction and coincides with our position."

Also on Monday, Russian forces said it resumed fighting in Ukraine after the Easter ceasefire, Russian news agencies reported, citing the defense ministry.

Agencies - Xinhua