Russia, Ukraine trade accusations of Orthodox Easter ceasefire violations

Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Sunday of breaching the 32-hour ceasefire in their four-year war, ​reporting more than a thousand drone and shelling attacks just hours ‌after the truce began on Saturday to mark Orthodox Easter.

The Russian defence ministry said it recorded 1,971 ceasefire violations overnight into Sunday, while Ukraine’s general staff reported 479 shelling ​attacks and more than 1,700 drone strikes by Russian troops.

According to ​the calendar of the Orthodox faith dominant in both countries, ⁠Easter is celebrated this year on Sunday.

A soldier from Ukraine’s 65th brigade fighting ​in Zaporizhzhia said Russian reconnaissance drones were still circling the area despite the ​ceasefire, blocking efforts to recover the bodies of fallen troops.

“We wanted to evacuate our fallen comrades today, but (the Russians) are not letting us do so just yet,” the soldier, known ​by the call sign Spider, said at a candle-lit military Easter service.

Russia ​said a child was among civilians injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Kursk ‌region, ⁠while the Belgorod region’s governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported two people killed by Ukrainian shelling.

Ukraine’s State Emergencies Service said two civilians were wounded on Sunday by a Russian drone attack in Kharkiv region.

Reuters could not independently verify reports of ​military activity.

‘HUMANITARIAN GESTURE’

Kremlin ​spokesman Dmitry Peskov ⁠said on Sunday that the truce was a “humanitarian gesture” from Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that Russian troops would ​resume fighting as soon as it ends.

“Putin has instructed the ​Russian ⁠military to remain on high alert in case of provocations,” Peskov said.

Putin announced the temporary Orthodox Easter ceasefire on April 9, and it is set to end at ⁠midnight (2100 ​GMT) Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whose previous ceasefire ​proposals were turned down by Moscow, agreed to the truce.