An elderly woman walks past the ruins of a house in Donetsk — Reuters MOSCOW, Apr 12 (AFP/BBC): Russia will not extend a truce with Ukraine over Orthodox Easter unless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accepts its terms, the Kremlin said in an interview aired Sunday.
"Sustainable peace can come when we secure our interests and achieve the goals we set from the very start. This can be done literally today. But Zelensky must accept these well-known solutions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.
"Until Zelensky musters the courage to assume this responsibility, the special military operation will continue after the truce expires," Peskov added, referring to the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia have each accused one another of hundreds of violations of a short ceasefire coinciding with Orthdox Easter celebrations.
The Ukrainian military said on Sunday morning that Russian forces had committed 2,299 violations since the truce began at 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday - including shooting four unarmed soldiers.
The Russian defence ministry, in turn, said Ukrainian forces had committed 1,971 violations, including three attempted counter-attacks in Dnipropetrovsk region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier said his nation's forces would respond "symmetrically" to Russian attacks during the ceasefire, calling Easter "a time of peace".
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