“After that, the president in him began to speak. Or maybe the man.” The irony by which a journalist from Moscow, present on the spot, described the surprise of the Easter armistice, announced by Putin

Until the last moment it has been secret that Putin will announce a cessation of a day and a half. He also surprised, a journalist on the spot wrote, ironically, a few words that will remain anthological, saying that Putin has crossed the state from the head of the president, reaching “even” to the state of man.

Andrei Kolesnikov, one of the bravest Russian journalists, is the correspondent of the Kommersant newspaper at the Kremlin. In general, his reports on Vladimir Putin's official meetings are written differently from the simple account. In terms of the press in dictatorships, Kolesnikov is famous for his “lizards” in texts, ironic references. This time, he went even further.

Present at the meeting in Kremlin, where Vladimir Putin received Valeri Gherasimov, the chief of the army, the journalist also assisted, surprised, to the events. Nothing announced the surprise. Gherasimov made known triumphant reporting on the state of the front. Completely opposite to the Ukrainians, notes the journalist, but that is ordinary.

Gherasimov is the same general who has repeatedly declared, recalls Kommersant, that “stopping even for a minute is not in the interest of the Russian army.”

After listening to Gherasimov's report, Putin said. “The situation on the line of combat contact is clear, evolves in a way that is favorable to us, Russian troops advance with step by step. As for the border area, the Kursk and Belgorod regions, reported separately after the completion of the fighting works for cleaning these territories,” ordered the Supreme Chief Commander, tells the journalist.

Then the journalist added, referring to a little: “After that, the president in him started to speak. Or maybe the man.

“Today, on the eve of Easter, I would like to congratulate, first of all, the military who profess Christianity, Orthodoxy and struggle for Russia, on the occasion of this bright holiday,” said Vladimir Putin. “I congratulate everyone in our country and in the world who celebrate the day that comes, honor and respect it!”

“And suddenly the supreme chief commander spoke in him again:

“Guided by humanitarian considerations, today, from 6 pm to midnight on Sunday (ie for almost a day and a half. It was, notes Kommersant, a total surprise.

The reaction of the Ukrainians

After President Zelensky's first detained reactions, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andri Sibiha announced that Kiev keeps his position on a 30 -day fire termination agreement, a position expressed in negotiations with the US.

A senior officer in the Ukrainian army told the BBC that his unit, along with others, was ordered to cease the fire over the Russian positions a few minutes after the Easter armistice announced by Vladimir Putin was to enter into force.

According to him, the units were trained to record photo and video evidence of the armistice violations and to respond if necessary.