Russian President Vladimir Putin's declaration of a temporary ceasefire on the Easter holiday amount to little more than "a media stunt," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on April 20.
Putin announced on April 19 that an Easter ceasefire would last from 6 p.m. that evening until midnight on April 21. Russia has already violated the temporary truce multiple times, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky and soldiers on Ukraine's front lines.
Russia's failure to follow through on its own ceasefire demonstrate Putin's contempt of the peace process, Lipavsky told the Czech media outlet CNN Prima News.
"It's like going on a hunger strike between breakfast and lunch and secretly eating candy," he said.
"We see that the attacks are continuing. Ukraine reports that there have been a number of attacks, so the ceasefire declared in this way is more of a media stunt than reality."
The weekend ceasefire is also no substitution for the full 30-day ceasefire on hostilities that the U.S. has been lobbying for since March, Lipavsky continued.
"Putin never agreed to that and started to set other conditions. We should look at what the reality is rather than at the words," he said.
Ukraine has agreed to enter a complete month-long truce since March 11. Kyiv's only requirement is that Moscow abide by the same terms — but the Kremlin has continuously pushed back on Washington's proposal, demanding extraordinary concessions from Ukraine in exchange for a pause on attacks.
Putin's declaration of an Easter truce came shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw from peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
"If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say: 'you're foolish, you're fools, you're horrible people,' and we're just going to take a pass," Trump told reporters on April 18.
The following day, Putin claimed he ordered the Easter ceasefire.
Relations between the U.S. and Russia have warmed significantly since Trump's election and subsequent involvement in peace negotiations. Washington is reportedly considering recognizing occupied Crimea as a Russian territory and lifting sanctions against Moscow as part of a future peace deal.
Lipavsky's dismissal of Putin's apparent posturing echoes the response of other European leaders to the so-called Easter truce. The U.K. foreign ministry on April 19 called on Russia to go beyond a "one-day pause" and commit to a complete ceasefire. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani urged Putin "to finally stop this war he started."
Kate Tsurkan
Independent journalism needs a community —
not a paywall.
We’re working hard to show the world the truth of Russia’s brutal war — and we’re keeping it free for everyone, because reliable information should be available to all.
Our goal: reach 20,000 members to prove independent journalism can survive without paywalls, billionaires, or compromise. Will you help us do it?
(Updated: )
