Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Vladimir Putin of trying to kid the world that he seeks peace through a ceasefire.

His condemnation of the despot came as forces continued their assault despite Moscow’s unilateral declaration of an Easter truce.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Zelensky said: “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.”

Putin imposed a 30-hour temporary truce on Saturday in a move that would have heralded the most significant pause in the fighting since the conflict erupted in 2022.

The order was viewed with scepticism with analysts suggesting the Russian president was attempting to gain a diplomatic victory by positioning himself as the leader who most wants peace.

Ukraine said Russia had fired 290 drones and launched 19 assaults during the first six hours of the ceasefire.

Moscow hit back, saying Kyiv had broken the Easter ceasefire “more than a thousand times” with its defence ministry claiming that Russian positions had been fired at 444 times while it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks.

It prompted an angry response with Zelenksy saying that Putin either “does not fully control his army” or that the Easter truce was a propaganda stunt.

He said: “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 favourable PR coverage.

Putin was pictured attending a Russian Orthodox Easter service just hours after saying: "Guided by humanitarian considerations the Russian side declares an Easter truce.

"For this period, I order all military actions to cease. We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions.

"We know that the Kyiv regime has violated the agreement on non-strikes on energy infrastructure more than 100 times.

“Our decision on the Easter truce will show how sincere is the readiness of the Kyiv regime and its desire, and indeed its ability, to comply with the agreements and participate in the process of peace negotiations aimed at eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis.”

The fragile ceasefire was implemented effective from 1800 Moscow time on Saturday and is due to expire at midnight.

Ukraine Kyiv had agreed to American proposals last month for a comprehensive cessation of hostilities on both sides but Moscow refused.

Putin rejected proposals for a full ceasefire but agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure.

He indicated he would only agree to a comprehensive truce if foreign military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine came to an end and was given guarantees it would not be able to join the Nato military alliance.

Last year he vowed to end the war but only if Russia kept all the Ukrainian regions it had occupied, while territory still under Ukrainian control in those regions was returned to Moscow.

Britain told Russia to commit to a full ceasefire with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office saying: “Now is the moment for Putin to truly show he is serious about peace by ending his horrible invasion and committing to a full ceasefire as the Ukrainian government has called for - not just a one day pause for Easter.”

It comes after US President Donald Trump said America will “take a pass” on trying to resolve the war if either Moscow or Kyiv makes it too difficult to end the conflict.

His Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier told European allies that Washington would “move on if a truce did not seem doable”.