An Easter ceasefire between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky quickly collapsed on Sunday, with Russia and Ukraine accusing the other of thousands of violations despite a temporary halt to fighting for the Orthodox holiday.The Moscow-ordered 32-hour truce starting Saturday evening was presented as a humanitarian gesture, with Kiev agreeing to abide by it and warning that it would respond to any violations. But within hours, both sides reported continuing hostilities across the nearly 1,200-kilometre front line, underscoring the fragility of such agreements in a war now in its fifth year.The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukrainian forces committed 1,971 violations during the ceasefire period, including artillery fire, tank attacks and more than a thousand drone strikes.
Kiev was also accused of trying to advance several times along the front, all of which it said were repulsed. In turn, Ukraine announced higher numbers, saying it had recorded 2,299 violations, including dozens of offensive operations, hundreds of bombing operations, and widespread drone activity.Despite the accusations, there were signs of limited calm. Ukrainian officials said there were no long-range missile attacks or large-scale aerial bombardment during the truce, a marked shift from the near-daily bombardment seen in recent months.
In parts of the front, soldiers described conditions as relatively calm, allowing some to attend Easter Mass in rare moments away from the fighting.However, Ukrainian officers said Russian drone strikes continued in several sectors, even in places where artillery fire had subsided. Kiev stressed that it was responding proportionately, matching “silence with silence and fire with fire.”The ceasefire followed renewed but stalled diplomatic efforts, including US-backed talks that failed to achieve a breakthrough.
While the Kremlin described the truce as a step towards a broader settlement, it reiterated its long-standing demands, especially regarding territory, which remain unacceptable to Ukraine.The short pause came after a deadly escalation. Russian drone strikes led to the deaths of civilians in cities including Odessa and Kherson just hours before the start of the truce, while both sides announced the interception of large numbers of drones overnight.
