Easter ceasefire fails
Russia’s 32‑hour Easter ceasefire largely failed, with Ukrainian officials reporting 469 violations including continued drone attacks and strikes on civilian areas. Fighting was reported around Odesa, Kherson and front‑line counterattacks near Oleksandrivka and Hulyaipole, while 182 Ukrainians were returned and another prisoner swap is being prepared for later this month. (theguardian.com) (apnews.com) (understandingwar.org) (ukrinform.net)
Russia’s Easter truce broke down within hours, with Ukrainian officials saying Russian forces kept attacking after the 32-hour pause officially began. (apnews.com) Ukraine’s general staff said it recorded 469 violations after 4 p.m. local time on Saturday, including 22 assaults and 153 bombardments. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian shelling and drone use continued across several front-line sectors. (theguardian.com) In one sector where artillery fire eased, Serhii Kolesnychenko of Ukraine’s 148th Separate Artillery Brigade told the Associated Press that Russian forces kept using drones against Ukrainian positions. Fighting was also reported around Odesa and Kherson after strikes earlier on Saturday hit civilian areas. (apnews.com) The ceasefire was supposed to run from 4 p.m. Moscow time on April 11 until the end of April 12, covering Orthodox Easter. Kyiv said it would match silence with silence, but warned it would answer any attack. (ukrinform.net) The collapse matters because both sides had presented the holiday pause as a rare chance to reduce fighting after more than four years of full-scale war. Instead, the truce appeared to expose how little control either side has over a front that stretches across southern and eastern Ukraine. (rferl.org) It also came as Russian forces were pressing offensives in the Hulyaipole direction, while Ukrainian counterattacks near Oleksandrivka were forcing Russian commanders to make tradeoffs along the line. The Institute for the Study of War said those Ukrainian attacks were disrupting Russian efforts elsewhere, including near Pokrovsk and the so-called Fortress Belt. (understandingwar.org) Moscow said its troops were observing the ceasefire and accused Ukraine of violations, while Ukrainian officials said the Russian side never fully stopped. That familiar pattern has marked earlier short truces, which have repeatedly collapsed amid mutual accusations and continuing fire. (cbsnews.com) One part of the weekend did move forward: 182 Ukrainians were returned in a prisoner exchange, and Ukrainian officials said another swap was being prepared for later in April. Even as the ceasefire faltered, the exchange showed that narrow deals can still happen alongside active combat. (apnews.com)
