Easter ceasefire falters
Russia and Ukraine agreed a temporary Orthodox Easter ceasefire, but both sides quickly accused each other of extensive violations — Kyiv and international outlets reported hundreds to thousands of alleged breaches and incidents such as an ambulance strike. Ukrainian forces said Russian drone attacks continued during the pause even as the two sides completed a reciprocal swap of 175 prisoners each ahead of the truce. (bbc.com) (independent.co.uk) (theguardian.com) (reuters.com)
Russia’s Easter ceasefire in Ukraine began on Saturday and unraveled within hours, with both sides reporting repeated attacks instead of a full pause. (apnews.com) President Vladimir Putin announced a 32-hour truce from 4 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday, April 11, to midnight on Sunday for Orthodox Easter. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would mirror any genuine pause but answer violations in kind. (cbsnews.com) By Saturday evening, Ukraine’s military said it had logged 469 Russian violations after the truce took effect, including drone strikes on front-line positions. A Ukrainian officer told The Associated Press artillery had eased in his sector, but Russian drones kept flying. (apnews.com) By Sunday, Ukrainian officials raised that count to 2,299 alleged breaches in 15 hours and said a drone struck an ambulance in Sumy region, injuring three paramedics. Russian-installed officials and state media, in turn, accused Ukraine of shelling and drone attacks in occupied territory and Russian border areas. (independent.co.uk) The truce came after weeks of pressure for some form of pause in fighting and after earlier proposals for limited ceasefires tied to energy infrastructure. The Easter window was narrower: just over a day, during one of the most important holidays in the Orthodox calendar. (bbc.com) That made the first hours a test of whether Moscow and Kyiv could enforce even a short holiday halt across a front line that runs for hundreds of miles. The near-immediate claims of violations showed how little trust exists between the two governments after more than four years of full-scale war. (bbc.com) One area of cooperation did survive. On Saturday, Russia and Ukraine exchanged 175 prisoners of war each, and Zelensky said Ukraine also received seven civilians from Russian captivity. (usnews.com) Russia’s Defense Ministry said the United Arab Emirates mediated the swap and said seven civilians from Russia’s Kursk region were also returned. Prisoner exchanges have remained one of the few channels where the two sides still reach practical deals. (france24.com) The ceasefire was due to end at midnight on Sunday, April 12, and neither side had turned the brief holiday pause into a broader settlement by then. What remained by Sunday was the prisoner exchange and two sharply different accounts of who broke the truce first. (apnews.com)
