Vladimir Putin announces the armistice in a dialogue with General Valeri Gerasimov Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofyev / AFP / Profimedia
If the allies of Ukraine needed a proof of the wild cynicism of Moscow in terms of peace, the announcement of an immediate armistice for Easter offered this exactly, stresses the main correspondent for international security, Nick Paton Walsh. The journalist who reported from the front about the Ukraine war, Walsh notes the moment chosen, how concise was his announcement and his unilateral character.
The announcement came just a few hours after US Secretary Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump announced that they need an urgent sign that the Kremlin is talking seriously about peace.
For Russia's supporters, the Saturday announcement of Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to be a sign from Trump, but the sudden statement is so full of practical defects that it is likely to be used by Putin to support the false idea that Kiev does not want his war to stop.
It will be a logistical nightmare for Ukrainian forces to stop suddenly and immediately the fights at Putin's order. Some positions on the front line could be in the middle of violent confrontations when this order is transmitted, and an end of this nature probably requires full -preparation days.
The misinformation is meant to create confusion among the troops regarding the implementation of the armistice, how to report or respond to violations and even what it has to do when it is over.
This time may prove to be a rare sign that both sides can stop violence for a short period. But it is more likely that both sides use violations and confusion to show that their opponent is not reliable. Starting on Saturday night, Ukrainian officials said the Russian blows continued in the areas on the front line.
A 30 -day armistice limited to energy infrastructure was born in total chaos. The White House has announced that “energy and infrastructure” were covered, the Kremlin said it had immediately ceased the “energy infrastructure”, and Ukraine said the armistice started a week later than the Kremlin's announcement. Its execution was equally affected by mistrust and infringement charges.
Moscow made a similar unilateral statement in January 2023, requesting a day of peace to allow Orthodox Christians to celebrate Christmas, a move that Kiev and Western leaders rejected at that time as a strategic break for military purposes.
An authentic armistice requires negotiations with the opponent and preparations for it to settle. This sudden haste seems to be completely conceived to meet the requests of the white house to receive any sign that Russia is willing to stop the fight. This will probably feed the conflict by Trump, sometimes pro -oscova. It could also cause complexities for Ukraine when it will inevitably be accused of violating what Washington may consider a goodwill from Moscow.
Finally, this short, probably theoretical, probably rhetorical and completely unilateral stop of a three -year war is likely to affect the role of diplomacy in the coming months than to support it.
