Easter truce collapsed
Ukraine says the short Orthodox Easter pause was violated thousands of times — its general staff recorded 10,721 alleged Russian ceasefire breaches during the truce. (independent.co.uk) During the same window Reuters reported a Russian drone attack that killed one person in Donetsk, and Kyiv Independent says Ukrainian forces pulled back in eastern Sumy oblast. ( )
Ukraine says Russia broke the Orthodox Easter ceasefire 10,721 times during the 32-hour pause that ended on April 12. (kyivindependent.com) Ukraine’s General Staff said the alleged breaches ran from 4 p.m. Moscow time on April 11 through the end of April 12. It counted 9,018 drone attacks, 1,603 artillery strikes, and 119 ground assaults, and said Russia did not launch missiles or Shahed-type drones during that window. (kyivindependent.com) Russia also accused Ukraine of violating the truce. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces committed 1,971 violations, according to reporting carried by Reuters and other outlets. (upi.com) The ceasefire was announced by President Vladimir Putin on April 9 and was set to run from 4 p.m. on April 11 until midnight on April 12 for Orthodox Easter. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would observe the pause if Russia did. (dw.com) Fighting did not stop during the truce period. Reuters reported that a Russian first-person-view drone strike killed one person in Druzhkivka in Donetsk region on April 12, before the ceasefire expired. (usnews.com) In northeastern Ukraine, Kyiv Independent reported that Ukrainian troops pulled back from villages east of Myropilske in Sumy oblast after what local command called “intensive military operations.” The 14th Army Corps said the units moved to a new prepared defensive line to preserve personnel. (kyivindependent.com) Sumy oblast borders Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine held territory from August 2024 into April 2025. Pressure along that border has grown as Russian forces try to push Ukrainian units farther from Russian territory. (yahoo.com) The Easter pause followed weeks of failed diplomacy over a broader ceasefire. Kyiv had backed a U.S. proposal for a 30-day halt in late March, while Moscow rejected that plan before offering the shorter holiday truce. (kyivindependent.com) The result was a ceasefire that existed on paper for 32 hours and ended with both sides accusing the other of breaking it almost immediately. (nbcnews.com)
