Despite hopes for a temporary pause in hostilities, Russia’s brief Easter ceasefire has failed to produce any meaningful progress toward peace in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials reported nearly 3,000 violations of the ceasefire, while the Kremlin has ignored Kyiv’s calls to extend it beyond April 20. Air raid sirens were heard in Kyiv just hours after the truce ended, and explosions were reported in Mykolaiv, underscoring the fragility of the situation.

Yet amid the rising tensions, U.S. President Donald Trump struck a hopeful tone, posting on Truth Social:

“I hope that this week, Ukraine and Russia will reach an agreement. Then both countries can start doing great business with the prosperous United States, and they will make great fortunes!”

Trump’s message came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral ceasefire, which began on April 19 at 6 p.m. and was supposed to last until midnight on April 20. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed there were no orders to extend the truce. Ukrainian officials, for their part, claim the ceasefire was not implemented at all.

To explore the viability of Trump’s suggested peace breakthrough, Azernews reached out to international experts for their assessments.

US political scientist and foreign policy expert Peter Marko Tase criticized recent diplomatic efforts, pointing to a lack of clarity and sincerity among Ukraine’s European allies:

“The Paris negotiations of April 17 miserably failed to make any progress on the War in Ukraine. Ukrainian and European warmongers have endeavored to embark on a nasty propaganda campaign against Moscow without clarifying their objectives in the negotiations roundtable. Ukraine is fortunate to have on its side US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the outstanding Ambassador Steven Charles Witkoff. Those who underestimate and tarnish the image of Ambassador Steven Witkoff are absolutely, gravely mistaken. Ambassador Witkoff is among the........

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