Can I delete photos on iPad without affecting iCloud photos?

GJDR wrote:

If I disable iCloud Photos in order to delete some on my iPad but not all over, what happens if I turn iCloud on again later.

The photos that you deleted on your phone, that are still in iCloud will be re-synced to your iPad once you re-enable iCloud Photos again.

If you really want to save photos but not have them on your phone, I recommend that you back them up to your computer. And I don't mean sync them using iCloud. I mean import them to your computer using a cable.

Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC - Apple Support

You can then back them up to an external hard drive. They will be completely unaffected by what you do with iCloud.

iCloud Drive is a synchronization service, so if you delete some photos on the iPad then they will be deleted on Icloud and any other device that you have logged into iCloud