U.S. President Donald Trump says a ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia could be reached within a week. Meanwhile, the two countries are trading blame for violating a truce during Easter.
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00:00Ukrainians gather for Easter celebrations across the war-torn country
00:08after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a ceasefire on the holy day.
00:20But with continued fighting reported on multiple fronts,
00:23many in Ukraine, from the church to the front line,
00:26were skeptical that Russia would stick to its word.
00:30The shelling has continued. We can see it on the news.
00:34For example, in Kherson.
00:36Also, assaults and shelling continued on the front line.
00:39There's no indication of a ceasefire.
00:41And I think that was expected because we know who we've been dealing with for the past three years.
00:48Look, I think there will be no ceasefire because Russia never keeps its word.
00:52You simply can't believe them. There will be no ceasefire.
00:55Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the Russian army violated the ceasefire almost 3,000 times.
01:04Or Russia's defense ministry says Ukraine broke the truce 1,000 times,
01:10leaving many Russians, who are also celebrating Easter,
01:14questioning whether Ukraine is serious about the ceasefire.
01:17To be honest, I don't have hopes on the Ukrainian side.
01:22They've deceived us so many times. I do not trust them.
01:26I watched Zelensky's reactions very closely.
01:31There was nothing about the ceasefire.
01:33There were just some vague statements, nothing giving any confidence that we won't be shelled.
01:37Ukrainian officials say their military actions were purely defensive,
01:41responding to ongoing Russian aggression.
01:44After the temporary ceasefire lapsed,
01:46Zelensky proposed a 30-day halt to drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure,
01:51with the possibility to extend.
01:53The Kremlin says there's been no order to extend the ceasefire.
01:59But U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been making efforts to broker an agreement between the two sides,
02:04wrote on social media that a deal could be made this week.
02:08His optimism, echoed by the United States Special Envoy to Russia and Ukraine,
02:13who say Trump's team would return to London this week for ceasefire talks.
02:17We talk about going forward with the potential ceasefire in the near term,
02:22and that's the reason we're returning to London this week, to actually lock that down.
02:27And I think there's tremendous opportunities.
02:29Opportunities, Kellogg says, that don't include Ukrainian membership to the NATO military alliance.
02:34With the 30-hour Easter truce now expired,
02:39fighting has well and truly resumed between Kyiv and Moscow.
02:43But as the U.S. boasts confidence that a deal can be made soon,
02:47Zelensky is urging his people not to give up hope that peace can be achieved.
02:53Dolphine Chen and Rosie Greninger for Taiwan Plus.