The "30-hour Easter temporary ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine officially expired at 0:00 Moscow time on the 21st. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of sabotaging the ceasefire agreement. US President Trump also expressed on the 20th local time that he hopes Russia and Ukraine will reach an agreement this week to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

"I hope Russia and Ukraine can reach an agreement this week. Then both sides will start to do big business with the booming United States and make a big profit!" Trump wrote on the "Real Social" platform that day.

Screenshot of Trump's "real social" platform account

Screenshot of Trump's "real social" platform account

According to media reports such as Russia Today (RT), Bloomberg and other media, after 0:00 local time in Moscow on the 21st, with the end of Easter, Russia's 30-hour ceasefire officially expired. Although Ukraine repeatedly called for an extension of the ceasefire to the 30th, Russia said the ceasefire will no longer be extended.

Kremlin spokesman Peskov said about five hours before the expiration of the ceasefire agreement that the ceasefire agreement will end as planned at 0:00 local time on the 21st. He stressed: “There are no other instructions.”

Russian President Putin announced on the 19th that during Easter, the Russian army will cease fire for 30 hours from 18:00 on April 19 to 0:00 on April 21. He called on Ukraine to follow Russia's approach, and pointed out that Ukraine had repeatedly violated its commitments and agreements, and demanded that the Russian army remain highly alert.

On April 19 local time, Putin announced that the Russian army would cease fire for 30 hours on Easter. Video screenshot

On April 19 local time, Putin announced that the Russian army would cease fire for 30 hours on Easter. Video screenshot

On the same day, Ukrainian President Zelensky responded that if Russia is willing to make a comprehensive and unconditional ceasefire, Ukraine will also take a reciprocal response. He also proposed to extend the ceasefire period to 30 days.

A U.S. State Department spokesman said: "We have seen President Putin announce a temporary ceasefire due to Easter. Given that we have assessed the seriousness of their incident, we welcome the extension of the ceasefire until after Sunday."

But a few hours after the ceasefire began, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of not fully complying with the ceasefire. On the evening of the 19th local time, Zelensky said that he had heard the report of Sersky, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces. "In (Russia) Kursk Oblast and Belgorod Oblast, combat operations are still continuing, and the Russian army continues to launch air strikes. In some directions of the front line, the sound of Russian shelling can still be heard."

Vladimir Saldo, head of the administrative agency of the Russian-controlled Khlsong Prefecture, also said on the same day that after the temporary ceasefire began, the Ukrainian army launched artillery and drone attacks on Khlsongdo. "On Easter night, millions of people pray for peace, Ukraine violated the ceasefire agreement announced by President Putin."

On the 21st local time, Zelensky said in the latest statement released by the X platform that as of 0:00 on that day, the Russian army violated the ceasefire commitment on the 20th by 2935 times. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that Ukrainian troops launched 1,300 attacks less than 24 hours since the announcement of the ceasefire agreement.

In an earlier post, Zelensky reiterated his suggestion to extend the ceasefire agreement for one month and said "our soldiers will respond as due to the specific situation of the enemy's combat. Ukraine will continue to emulate Russia's actions."

The New York Times said that Russia's "Easter ceasefire" appears to show the Trump administration that Moscow is still open to peace talks.

Since Trump came to power, the US government has repeatedly contacted Russia and Ukraine to try to promote a ceasefire agreement. On March 18 and 19, Trump spoke with Putin and Zelensky one after another. Both sides agreed to achieve a ceasefire in energy facilities and launched technical negotiations on expanding the scope of the ceasefire to the Black Sea, using this as the "first step" to end the Ukrainian crisis in an all-round way.

A U.S. and Ukraine will restart negotiations in London next week so that Ukraine has time to fully agree to the "terms list" proposed by Washington, a U.S. official told Reuters. The official said Kiev is ready to achieve a full ceasefire of at least 30 days or more in the sea, land and air areas.

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said on April 18 that if there is no sign in the near future that an agreement can be reached, the United States will give up its efforts to push Russia and Ukraine to reach a peaceful agreement. Trump also said in an interview with the media that if one side "makes reconciliation very difficult", he is ready to stop mediation efforts to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

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