Easter truce collapses in Ukraine
A 32-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire in Ukraine expired after both sides accused each other of extensive violations and strikes resumed. Ukraine’s general staff reported Russia had violated the ceasefire 7,696 times, and other outlets recorded more than 2,000 breaches with fresh strikes in the Kharkiv region. (theguardian.com) (kyivindependent.com) (independent.co.uk)
Russia’s 32-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire in Ukraine expired on Monday with both sides accusing each other of repeated violations and fighting resuming. (france24.com) The truce ran from 4 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday, April 11, to the end of Sunday, April 12, after President Vladimir Putin announced it and President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would mirror Russia’s actions. (france24.com) (apnews.com) Ukraine’s general staff said Russian forces violated the ceasefire 7,696 times, including 1,355 artillery strikes, 115 assault actions and 6,226 drone attacks. It said no air strikes were recorded during the truce window. (kyivindependent.com) (independent.co.uk) Russia’s defense ministry said Ukrainian forces breached the ceasefire 1,971 times overnight into Sunday, and Reuters reported that both sides described more than 1,000 drone and shelling attacks within hours of the pause taking effect. Independent verification of either side’s battlefield claims remained difficult. (ednews.net) (redlakenationnews.com) The brief lull still changed the pattern of attacks. Reuters and France 24 reported a drop in Russian long-range air raids during the holiday, even as front-line shelling and drone strikes continued. (france24.com) (redlakenationnews.com) By Monday, strikes had resumed in the Kharkiv region, where officials and live reports cited fresh attacks after the ceasefire ended. The Kyiv Independent also reported at least four people killed and 35 injured in Russian attacks over the previous day. (independent.co.uk) (kyivindependent.com) The failed truce landed as the war entered its fifth year after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Even a holiday pause backed by both presidents lasted little more than a day before each side returned to public blame and military fire. (apnews.com) (redlakenationnews.com) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would not extend the truce unless Zelensky accepted Moscow’s terms, according to Agence France-Presse as cited by CBS News. That left the Easter pause as a short, contested break rather than the start of broader negotiations. (cbsnews.com)
