Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of breaching Easter ceasefire

The warring sides trade barbs over the truce as the Kremlin says Russia will not extend it unless Kyiv agrees to its terms.A rescue worker puts out a fire of residential house destroyed by a Russian drone strike on Odesa, Ukraine [Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP Photo]Published On 12 Apr 2026Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of violating a truce in place for Orthodox Easter, as the war dragged on into its fifth year.Both sides had agreed to observe the ceasefire for the religious holiday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordering the truce more than a week after Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a halt to hostilities.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Russia and Ukraine agree to 32-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefirelist 2 of 4UK says three Russian submarines tracked during ‘covert’ operationlist 3 of 4Energy prices may take ‘months’ to normalise, despite ceasefire: Analystslist 4 of 4Russia suffers ‘record’ soldier casualties as Ukraine ups drone productionend of listBut as with a similar agreement last year, only relative calm reigned along the 1,200km (745-mile) front line.“As of 7:00 am on 12 April, 2,299 ceasefire violations were recorded. Specifically: 28 enemy assault actions, 479 enemy shellings, 747 strikes by attack drones … and 1,045 strikes by FPV drones,” the Ukrainian military’s general staff said in a post on Facebook.In turn, Russia’s Ministry of Defence accused Kyiv of nearly 2,000 breaches.“A total of 1,971 ceasefire violations by units of the Ukrainian armed forces were recorded between 4:00 pm Moscow time on April 12 and 8:00 am on April 12,” the ministry said on the state-pushed MAX application.The Russian ministry claimed Kyiv had fired 258 times using artillery or tanks, carried out 1,329 FPV drone strikes, and dropped “various types of munitions” on 375 occasions, notably via drones.Moscow also accused the Ukrainian military of launching “three nighttime attacks” against Russian positions and “four attempts to advance” along the front line, while claiming to have thwarted each.Call from KremlinMeanwhile, the Kremlin said Russia would not extend the truce unless Kyiv accepts its terms.“Sustainable peace can come when we secure our interests and achieve the goals we set from the very start. This can be done literally today. But Zelenskyy must accept these well-known solutions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.“Until Zelenskyy musters the courage to assume this responsibility, the special military operation will continue after the truce expires,” Peskov added, referring to the war in Ukraine.He also said Russian troops still needed to take control of 17-18 percent of Ukraine’s disputed Donetsk region.However, in a sign that the truce had some effect, the Ukrainian army stressed that it had recorded no long-range Shahed drone attacks, guided aerial bombings or missile strikes.Ukraine has had to deal with near-nightly barrages of hundreds of Russian drones, prompting retaliation from Kyiv.In northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Lieutenant Colonel Vasyl Kobziak told the AFP news agency on Sunday morning that things were “rather calm” in his sector.While the 32-year-old officer said the truce had not been “fully” observed, the lull had allowed his soldiers of the 33rd Mechanised Brigade to attend an Easter Sunday mass outside in the freezing forest chill.“Our comrades have the chance, as you can see, to have their Easter baskets blessed and to feel the warmth and joy of this holiday,” he told AFP, referring to the religious tradition of priests blessing food and eggs.The truce had been due to last for 32 hours, from 4pm (13:00 GMT) on Saturday until the end of the day on Sunday, according to the Kremlin.In Russia’s Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, Governor Alexander Khinshtein also accused Kyiv of breaking the ceasefire by attacking a petrol station in the town of Lgov with a drone, injuring three people, including a baby.In his evening address on Saturday, Zelenskyy called for a longer ceasefire, insisting the ball was in Moscow’s court.A similar truce was announced in Ukraine for Orthodox Easter last year, only for both sides to accuse each other of numerous violations.Front-line freezeRecent months have seen several rounds of United States-brokered negotiations fail to bring the warring parties closer to an agreement to stop the fighting, triggered by Russia’s February 2022 invasion.The process has stalled further since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, with Washington’s attention having shifted towards Iran.But even before the US-Israel war on Iran, progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine had been slow, due to differences over the issue of territory.Ukraine has proposed freezing the conflict along the current front lines.But Russia has rejected this, saying it wants the whole of the Donetsk region despite it being partly controlled by Ukraine – a demand Kyiv says is unacceptable.