Donald Trump said he hopes Russia and Ukraine will sign a peace deal this week.
As the end of Vladimir Putin’s “Easter truce” drew near the US President took to his Truth Social platform on Sunday night.
“HOPEFULLY RUSSIA AND UKRAINE WILL MAKE A DEAL THIS WEEK,” he posted.
“BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THRIVING, AND MAKE A FORTUNE!”
It was the first time he had commented since Putin announced the truce on Saturday. Just a day earlier, Mr Trump had threatened to walk away from peace talks “very shortly” unless a ceasefire was brokered.
The Easter truce expired at 9pm BST last night, with each side accusing the other of repeat violations.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russia had breached the 30-hour agreement nearly 3,000 times.
This morning, Russia launched 96 drones and three missiles, according to Ukraine’s air force, with damage reported in Kharkiv, Dnipro and Cherkasy.
Pope Francis, who died this morning at the age of 88, made appeals for peace in Ukraine at nearly every public appearance, at least twice a week.
He sparked outrage from Kyiv after praising those in Ukraine who had the “courage to raise the white flag and negotiate”.
He repeatedly denounced arms manufacturers and argued that in the myriad of conflicts seen around the globe, a Third World War was underway.
The conflict also brought relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church to a new low in 2022 when Francis said its Patriarch Kirill, who supported the conflict, should not act like “Putin’s Altar Boy”.
The peace plan put forward by Trump administration would see the US recognising Crimea as Russian territory, according to a report in the WSJ.
The proposal would also end Ukraine’s ambitions of becoming a Nato member.
US negotiators told a Ukrainian delegation about there plans at a meeting in Paris on April 17th, the report states.
Washington wants agreement on a deal this week and has said that it is prepared to walk away if no progress is made.
Russia said on Monday it had resumed strikes on Ukraine after a 30-hour surprise Easter truce, as Ukraine said drones and missiles pounded the Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions.
“With the end of the ceasefire, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continued to conduct the special military operation,” the Russian military said in a statement, using its term for the military offensive.
Donald Trump promised to broker a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia within “24 hours” of returning to the White House.
Three months in and despite a brief Easter truce announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the war is still raging, with the prospect of a ceasefire more uncertain than ever.
“Nothing is happening. In real terms, people hear sirens every day, see bombs, and people get killed,” the head of the Kyiv School of Economics, Tymofiy Mylovanov, told AFP.
“Putin is basically taking everyone for a ride,” he said.
Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional and full ceasefire put to him in March.
Both sides agreed to halt strikes on energy targets, though no formal agreement was ever put in place, both accused the other of violating it and Russia said Friday that the order had “expired”.
Moscow’s army has continued its grinding advance across the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, albeit at a slower pace than at the end of last year.
The Kremlin said in March that Trump’s dramatic shift in foreign policy largely aligned with its vision, after Washington sided with Moscow twice at the United Nations.
A Moscow court has found Alphabet’s Google guilty of disclosing personal data of Russian servicemen who died in Ukraine, Russia’s TASS news agency reported on Monday, citing court documents.
The court’s documents say that in a video published on YouTube, information on the losses in Ukraine of Russian servicemen, as well as their personal data, were disclosed, TASS reported.
Russia has for several years ordered foreign technology platforms to remove content it deems illegal, such as what it calls “fakes” about the war in Ukraine, issuing small but persistent fines when it sees failures to comply.
Google did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment outside business hours.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin accused Google in December of being a tool used by the U.S. government headed then by former President Joe Biden, to score political points.
Russian forces on Monday resumed fighting in Ukraine after the Easter ceasefire declared by Vladimir Putin, Russian news agencies reported, citing the defence ministry.
The defence ministry said Russia forces strictly observed the ceasefire and remained in their positions. The ministry accused Ukraine of violating the truce.
Ukrainian regional officials on Monday reported Russia has resumed air attacks. Sergiy Lysak, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk, said Russia “launched drones” at the eastern region.
One home was damaged and a fire broke out at a food establishment, but no injuries have been reported, he said on Telegram.
In the southern Mykolaiv region, the governor reported the “enemy attacked the city with missiles” in a pre-dawn raid. “There were no casualties or damage,” Vitaliy Kim said in a Telegram post.
China on Monday said it welcomed “all efforts” towards achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“China is pleased to see all efforts that lead to a ceasefire, which is a necessary step towards peace. We hope that all parties concerned will continue to resolve the crisis through dialogue and negotiations,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press conference.
Air raid sirens were heard in Kyiv this morning as Vladimir Putin’s uneasy “Easter truce” expired.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky last night claimed Russia had breached the 30-hour agreement nearly 3,000 times.
Moscow said Ukraine had violated the agreement 1,000 times.
It came to an end at 9pm BST last night and this morning the Ukrainian air force reported Russia had launched 96 drones and three missiles, hitting Kharkiv, Dnipro and Cherkasy.
It said 42 of the drones had been shot down and 47 had been electronically redirected, but gave no further information about the missiles.
Good morning and welcome to our live blog. We will be bringing you updates on the Russia-Ukraine conflict throughout the day.
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Ukraine-Russia war live: Trump ‘hopes’ Russia and Ukraine will sign a peace deal this week – The Telegraph
