The snap “Easter truce” proposed by Russia underscores the need for any ceasefire or peace agreement to be publicly available, officially agreed upon in advance by all parties, and to include robust monitoring mechanisms.
According to Ukrinform, this is stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The report notes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at 20:00 local time on April 20 that Russian forces conducted ground attacks and drone and artillery strikes against Ukrainian forces along “all main frontline directions” in violation of the 30-hour “truce” declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky also stated that Russian troops attacked in the Siversk, Toretsk, and Zaporizhzhia directions, with the most intense offensive actions taking place in the Pokrovsk sector.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed on April 20 that Russian troops were allegedly “strictly” observing the truce. The ministry accused Ukraine of launching drone and artillery strikes at Russian positions and Russian-occupied settlements since the beginning of the “truce.”
ISW analysts published a map using data from NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), which shows satellite-detected heat anomalies along the front line on April 20, potentially indicating military activity. At the same time, ISW stated that it is unable to independently verify the specific reports of violations made by Russian or Ukrainian sources.
“A temporary civilian infrastructure strikes ceasefire agreement — and especially a general ceasefire agreement — would require robust monitoring mechanisms, public and formal terms, and a clearly defined time frame. The Kremlin may continue to leverage any vague future ceasefire agreements to obfuscate Russia’s rejection of US and Ukrainian ceasefire proposals and to accuse Ukraine of violating such ceasefire terms,” the report says.
As reported by Ukrinform, on April 19, Putin announced Easter ceasefire in the war against Ukraine.
President Zelensky stated that on Sunday alone, Russian forces violated the ceasefire 2,935 times, despite the announcement made by the Russian leader.
Source: ‘Easter truce’ proves no ceasefire regime will work without clear terms, monitoring – ISW
