Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of breaching a temporary ceasefire declared by Vladimir Putin for the Orthodox Easter weekend, less than a day after the truce was due to begin.
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The Russian president announced a 32-hour halt in fighting, instructing Russian forces to stop hostilities from 4 p.m. on Saturday until the end of Sunday. The move was presented by Moscow as a humanitarian pause during one of the most significant holidays in the Orthodox Christian calendar.
Ukraine’s leadership said it would observe the ceasefire but warned that any violations would prompt an immediate response.
Ukraine Reports Thousands of Violations
Ukrainian officials said the truce was repeatedly broken after it came into effect.
In a statement on Sunday, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said it had documented 2,299 violations by Russian forces as of 7 a.m. local time. The incidents included ground assaults, artillery shelling and the launch of small drones.
However, the military said it had not recorded the use of longer-range weapons such as missiles, long-distance drones or guided aerial bombs during that period.
A Ukrainian military officer also told The Associated Press that Russian troops had continued to attack Ukrainian positions despite the ceasefire announcement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier said Kyiv would respect the pause but would retaliate swiftly if Russian forces carried out strikes.
Moscow Blames Ukrainian Attacks
Russia’s Defence Ministry said Ukrainian forces were responsible for numerous violations of the ceasefire.
According to the ministry, it had recorded 1,971 incidents attributed to Ukrainian forces. Officials also reported drone strikes on the Russian regions of Kursk Oblast and Belgorod Oblast, saying the attacks had injured civilians.
Both sides have frequently traded accusations of breaches during earlier attempts to pause the fighting.
Previous Truce Attempts Failed
Efforts to secure temporary ceasefires during the conflict have often collapsed quickly, with Moscow and Kyiv blaming each other for continuing hostilities.
Last year, Putin also announced a unilateral ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter holiday lasting around 30 hours. That truce similarly failed to hold, with both governments accusing the other of breaking the agreement.
The latest exchange of accusations highlights the continuing difficulty of implementing even short humanitarian pauses in the conflict, now in its third year, as front-line fighting and drone attacks persist across multiple regions.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 13 April 2026
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