Easter ceasefire? - Kremlin demands proposal from Zelenskyi

According to Russian news agencies, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow had not yet seen a clear formulation of the initiative. He made it clear that Russia was rather striving for a fundamental solution to the conflict.

Selensky had proposed an Easter ceasefire the previous day, but in several variations, and did not specify a date. Western Christians celebrate Easter this weekend, while Orthodox Christians in Russia and Ukraine do not celebrate until April 12.

"Zelenskyi should take responsibility and make an appropriate decision so that we can achieve peace - and not a ceasefire," said Peskov. "It is clear that the Kiev regime urgently needs a ceasefire, any ceasefire, because the dynamics on the fronts, which incidentally are being observed not only by our experts but also by foreign experts, show that Russian troops are advancing - sometimes faster, sometimes slower - but along the entire front line," said Peskov.

Ceasefires always fragile recently - Peskov also threatens

During temporary ceasefires in the past, the warring parties had repeatedly accused each other of violations. In addition, both sides accuse each other of using such phases to redeploy troops and rearm.

In the US-brokered negotiations with Ukraine, Russia is insisting that Kiev withdraw its troops from the part of the Donbass region not previously controlled by Moscow - in return for peace. Selenskyj rejects such gifts to Russia.

The Kremlin spokesman also issued a warning to neighboring countries following the crash of Ukrainian drones into EU states in the Baltic region. Should states make their airspace available for "hostile terrorist acts against the Russian Federation, then this obliges us to draw appropriate conclusions and take appropriate measures", he said.

Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for more than four years.