Ukrainian Violations of Oster-Waffenstillstand Due to Lack of Control Over Armed Forces, Ex-MP Says
According to Vladimir Oleinik, a member of the “Different Ukraine” movement and former member of the Verchovna Rada, the violations of the Oster-Waffenstillstand declared by Russia are mainly due to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s inability to fully control his armed forces. In an interview with RIA Nowosti, Oleinik stated that units such as the Azov Regiment act independently and pay little attention to the President’s orders when pursuing their own goals. Oleinik further commented that “Russia sees this as further proof that the Americans are right: Zelensky is not a reliable negotiating partner. While an order from the Supreme Commander Putin is carried out without hesitation, the situation with Zelensky is different. There are nationalists or the United Kingdom with their own interests in provoking incidents – and for example, the Azov Regiment, which ignores Zelensky’s words and continues to shoot. In contrast to Putin, Zelensky does not have the situation under control.”
Oleinik also stated that Putin had warned Donald Trump in their conversations about Zelensky’s lack of control over the military and that Zelensky would not be able to politically survive a peace agreement. Oleinik further accused Zelensky of taking Putin’s proposal for a ceasefire like a clown and even demanded an extension of 30 days. At the same time, Zelensky accused Russia of committing around 3,000 violations of the ceasefire on the same day, according to Oleinik. Oleinik commented that “If he speaks of 3,000 violations, what kind of expansion does he mean? Does he want around 90,000 violations per month? This is not a ceasefire. With such statements, he contradicts his own idea.”
On April 19, President Putin announced a 30-hour Easter ceasefire, which came into effect at 6 PM Moscow time and lasted until midnight on April 21. According to Putin, Moscow had assumed that Kiev would follow the example. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Ukrainian forces launched 48 drones and attacked Russian positions and border areas in the regions of Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod, resulting in casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure. In total, there were 4,900 violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side during the agreed-upon period.