Zelenskyy says Russia is trying to create an 'impression of a ceasefire' as attacks continue

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Sunday of creating a false appearance of honoring an Easter ceasefire, saying Moscow continued to launch attacks after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a unilateral temporary truce.

“As of Easter morning, we can say that the Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places, it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

Despite Putin’s declaration of an Easter ceasefire, Zelenskyy said Sunday morning that Ukrainian forces had recorded 59 instances of Russian shelling and five assaults by units along the front line, as well as dozens of drone strikes.

In later updates, Zelenskyy said that despite Ukraine declaring a symmetrical approach to Russian actions, “the trend of increasing the use of heavy weaponry by Russian forces continues.” He said, however, that it was “a good thing, at least, that there were no air raid sirens.”

He noted that some Ukrainian troops were killed in a Russian "ambush” on Sunday in the Donetsk region, and said the Russian soldiers responsible would be “eliminated."

Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of overnight attacks in the Donetsk region despite the ceasefire. It said Ukraine had sent 48 drones into Russian territory. According to the ministry, there were “dead and wounded among the civilian population,” without giving details. It claimed Russian troops had strictly observed the truce.

Russia-installed officials in the partially occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson also said Ukrainian forces had launched attacks.

Zelenskyy said that Russia must fully adhere to the ceasefire conditions and reiterated Ukraine’s offer to extend the truce for 30 days when it ends midnight Sunday. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha‎ said Moscow had not responded to Kyiv's proposal.

“In practice, either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favorable PR coverage,” Zelenskyy wrote.

Just hours after announcing the ceasefire, Putin attended an Easter service late Saturday at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour led by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a vocal supporter of Putin and the war in Ukraine.

Putin offered no details on how the ceasefire would be monitored or whether it would cover airstrikes or ongoing ground battles that rage around the clock.

His announcement came after U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding three-year war.

The State Department said Sunday that the U.S. is committed to “a full and comprehensive ceasefire.” It noted encouraging discussions this past week in Paris about peace prospects in Ukraine, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio conveyed in a call to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

Morton reported from London.

Ukrainian Roman Catholic believers celebrate Easter in a cathedral in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)

People in traditional Ukrainian clothes perform folk dances during celebrations for Orthodox Easter at the Museum of Folk Architecture and Life in Lviv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mykola Tys)

Father Henadii blesses Easter baskets during celebration of Orthodox Easter at St. John Theologian Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/George Ivanchenko)

A priest blesses Easter baskets during the celebration of Orthodox Easter at Cross Lower Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/George Ivanchenko)

In this image from video distributed by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Sunday, April 20, 2025, a Russian soldier gets an communion after a religion service on eve of Orthodox Easter at an unspecified location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

A woman lights a candle during the celebration of Orthodox Easter at St. John Theologian Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/George Ivanchenko)

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade press service, a chaplain conducts an Easter service for soldiers to mark Easter on the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)

In this image from video distributed by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Sunday, April 20, 2025, Russian soldiers attend a religious service on eve of Orthodox Easter at an unspecified location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, Ukrainian servicemen attend an Easter service on their position in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Mykola Oliinyk/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, Ukrainian servicemen attend an Easter service on their position in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Mykola Oliinyk/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)

People stand in line to kiss an icon during the celebration of Orthodox Easter at Cross Lower Church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/George Ivanchenko)

An elderly woman prepares her Easter baskets to be blessed during celebration of the Orthodox Easter in Krasne village, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin attend the Orthodox Easter service at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Ramil Sitdikov/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin attend the Orthodox Easter service at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Ramil Sitdikov/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

A rock climber who fell hundreds of feet descending a steep gully in Washington's North Cascades mountains survived the fall that killed his three companions, hiked to his car in the dark and then drove to a pay phone to call for help, authorities said Tuesday.

The surviving climber, Anton Tselykh, 38, extricated himself from a tangle of ropes, helmets and other equipment after the fall Saturday evening. Despite suffering internal bleeding and head trauma, Tselykh eventually, over at least a dozen hours, made the trek to the pay phone, Okanogan County Undersheriff Dave Yarnell said.

The climbers who were killed were Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, Oleksander Martynenko, 36, Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez said.

Authorities haven't yet been able to interview the survivor, who is in a Seattle hospital, said Rodriguez, so much is still unknown of the fall and Tselykh's journey.

Falls like this leading to three deaths are extremely rare, said Cristina Woodworth, who leads the sheriff’s search and rescue team. Seven years ago, two climbers were killed in a fall on El Capitan at Yosemite National Park in California.

The group of four were scaling the Early Winters Spires, jagged peaks split by a cleft that is popular with climbers in the North Cascade Range, about 160 miles (257 kilometers) northeast of Seattle. Tselykh was hospitalized in Seattle.

The group of four met with disaster that night when the anchor used to secure their ropes was torn from the rock while they were descending, Rodriguez said. The anchor they were using, a metal spike called a piton, appeared to have been placed there by past climbers, he said.

They plummeted for about 200 feet (60 meters) into a slanted gulch and then tumbled another 200 feet before coming to rest, Yarnell said. Authorities believe the group had been ascending but turned around when they saw a storm approaching.

A three-person search and rescue team reached the site of the fall Sunday, Woodworth said. The team used coordinates from a device the climbers had been carrying, which had been shared by a friend of the men.

Once they found the site, they called in a helicopter to remove the bodies one at a time because of the rough terrain, Woodworth said.

On Monday, responders poured over the recovered equipment trying to decipher what caused the fall, Woodworth said. They found a piton — basically a small metal spike that is driven into rock cracks or ice and used as anchors by climbers — that was still clipped into the climbers' ropes.

“There’s no other reason it would be hooked onto the rope unless it pulled out of the rock,” said Rodriguez, the coroner, noting that pitons are typically stuck fast in the rock. Rodriguez added that when rappelling, all four men would not have be hanging from the one piton at the same time, but taking turns moving down the mountain.

Pitons are oftentimes left in walls. They can be there for years or even decades, and they may become less secure over time.

“It looked old and weathered, and the rest of their equipment looked newer, so we are making the assumption that it was an old piton,” Woodworth said.

Rock climbers secure themselves by ropes to anchors, such as pitons or other climbing equipment. The ropes are intended to arrest their fall if they should slip, and typically climbers use backup anchors, said Joshua Cole, a guide and co-owner of North Cascades Mountain Guides, who has been climbing in the area for about 20 years.

Generally, it would be unusual to rappel off a single piton, said Cole, adding that it is still unknown exactly what happened on the wall that night.

“We eventually, if possible, would like to get more information from surviving party,” Woodworth said.

The spires are a popular climbing spot. The route the climbers were taking, said Cole, was of moderate difficulty, and requires moving between ice, snow and rock.

But the conditions, the amount of ice versus rock for example, can change rapidly with the weather, he said, even week to week or day to day, changing the route's risks.

Bedayn reported from Denver.

The Okanogan County Search and Rescue team responds to a climbing accident in the North Cascades mountains in Washington on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Okanogan County Sheriff's Office via AP)

The Okanogan County Search and Rescue team responds to a climbing accident in the North Cascades mountains in Washington on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Okanogan County Sheriff's Office via AP)

This 2021 photo provided by shows Monkey Flowers along the trail in North Cascades National Park Service Complex in Washington. (U.S. National Park Service via AP)

The Okanogan County Search and Rescue team responds to a climbing accident in the North Cascades mountains in Washington on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Okanogan County Sheriff's Office via AP)