19 April 2025
by Lev Shlosberg
Source: Telegram
It has finally been decided. This is in and of itself a movement in the right direction. But there are more questions than answers.
First of all, a truce is a bilateral agreement, not a unilateral action. A truce is negotiated; it is a joint decision.
Here, Putin declares: “We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example,” and immediately orders Gerasimov to ensure “our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations by the enemy, any of their aggressive actions.”
Gerasimov’s report is entirely devoted to military advances: “The troops of the Joint Forces Group continue active operations to fulfill the tasks of the special military operation. Currently, all six groups of troops are engaged in offensive measures on 11 fronts.” The exchange of views between Putin and Gerasimov concerns military operations and combat missions.
Secondly, a truce has been declared for thirty hours. Is it thirty hours to reload the guns or thirty hours to prepare for the signing of the ceasefire agreement? The difference is vast – at the cost of human life.
An effective ceasefire agreement can only be complete and unconditional and must stop the fighting on the ground, in the air and at sea of both warring parties. Otherwise it does not have meaning, because it does not put an end to shelling, raids, and fighting.
But even these thirty hours must pass without shooting – and only after midnight on April 21st will it be possible to say that it has worked out.
But the main question is what will happen after midnight on April 21st. If it is the same as before 18.00 on April 19th, then the hopes of these thirty hours without fire will sink into the abyss of continuing bloodshed.
Translated by Alyssa Rider
