Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of violating the 32-hour ceasefire in their ongoing conflict, with both sides reporting nearly 2,000 drone and shelling attacks shortly after the truce began on Saturday to coincide with Orthodox Easter.
The Russian Defence Ministry stated that it recorded 1,971 ceasefire breaches overnight into Sunday, while Ukraine’s general staff reported 479 shelling incidents and over 1,700 drone strikes by Russian forces.
According to Russia, a child was among the civilians injured in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Kursk region, while Vyacheslav Gladkov, the Belgorod regional governor, confirmed two fatalities due to Ukrainian shelling.
On the other hand, Ukraine’s State Emergencies Service reported that two civilians were wounded on Sunday in a Russian drone attack in the Kharkiv region.
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, mentioned on Sunday that the ceasefire was a “humanitarian gesture” from Russian President Vladimir Putin but stated that Russian troops would resume combat operations once the ceasefire period concludes.
Putin had declared the temporary Orthodox Easter ceasefire on April 9, with the ceasefire scheduled to end at midnight Moscow time on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose previous ceasefire proposals were rejected by Moscow, agreed to the truce.