Easter truce collapses
A 32‑hour Orthodox Easter truce between Russia and Ukraine expired after both sides accused each other of extensive violations and fighting resumed. (independent.co.uk). Still, the pause yielded a limited humanitarian exchange: Russia and Ukraine swapped 175 prisoners during the truce. (theguardian.com)
Fighting resumed after a 32-hour Orthodox Easter truce expired early Monday, with Russia and Ukraine accusing each other of widespread violations. (france24.com) The Kremlin announced the pause last week, and President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would mirror it from Saturday afternoon through the end of Sunday, April 12. Reuters reported that both sides were trading accusations within hours of the truce taking effect. (nbcnews.com) Ukraine said Russian forces violated the ceasefire 7,696 times, according to figures reported by The Independent on Monday. Earlier, Ukrainian officials had reported 469 violations, including 153 shelling attacks, 19 drone strikes and 275 first-person-view drone attacks. (independent.co.uk) Moscow also said Kyiv broke the truce, with governors in Russian border regions reporting drone attacks and shelling. France 24 said both sides described a brief drop in long-range air and missile attacks even as fighting continued along parts of the front. (france24.com) The pause was one of the few formally declared battlefield lulls in a war now in its fourth year. It covered Orthodox Easter, one of the most important dates on the church calendar in both countries. (rferl.org) It also landed as wider diplomacy remained stalled. Al Jazeera reported that United States-led efforts to push Russia and Ukraine toward a broader settlement had not produced a lasting ceasefire before the holiday announcement. (aljazeera.com) The one concrete result was a prisoner exchange on Saturday. Ukraine and Russia each brought home 175 prisoners of war, and Zelensky said seven Ukrainian civilians were also returned. (politico.eu) Russia’s Defense Ministry also described the swap as a 175-for-175 exchange, and multiple reports said the United Arab Emirates helped mediate it. Humanitarian exchanges have continued intermittently even when ceasefire talks have failed. (themoscowtimes.com) The Easter pause followed a similar holiday truce last year that both sides said was repeatedly breached. By Monday, the latest version had ended the same way it began: with both armies saying the other side never really stopped. (telegraph.co.uk)
