Easter truce between Ukraine and Russia ends

A truce between Russia and Ukraine to mark the Orthodox Easter has formally expired, with both sides having accused each other of thousands of violations despite a lull in Russian air raids.

The truce lasted 32 hours, from 4:00pm (2pm Irish time) on Saturday until the end of yesterday.

Both sides had agreed to observe the ceasefire, which Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered on Thursday and which Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky proposed more than a week earlier.

But as with a similar agreement last year, only relative calm reigned along the 1,200-kilometre frontline.

The Ukrainian army said on Facebook that as of 10:00pm (8pm Irish time) yesterday, "7,696 violations by the enemy have been recorded".

Russia had adhered to the ceasefire to some extent, while continuing "combat operations in certain sectors, including the use of FPV drones and kamikaze drones", it added.

Russia's defence ministry accused Ukraine of nearly 2,000 breaches of the truce.

"A total of 1,971 ceasefire violations by units of the Ukrainian armed forces were recorded between 4:00pm Moscow time on 12 April and 8:00 am on 12 April," the ministry said on the state-pushed MAX messenger service.

Ukraine had fired 258 times using artillery or tanks, carried out 1,329 FPV drone strikes and dropped "various types of munitions" on 375 occasions, notably via drones, Russia said.

Russia also accused the Ukrainian military of launching "three nighttime attacks" against Russian positions and also "four attempts to advance" along the frontline, adding that it had thwarted each one.

Mr Zelensky had called for a longer ceasefire in his evening address Saturday, saying Ukraine had put the proposal to Russia.

But in comments aired yesterday, the Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected any extension unless the Ukrainian leader accepted Russia's "well-known" terms.

"Until Zelensky musters the courage to assume this responsibility, the special military operation will continue after the truce expires," Mr Peskov added, referring to the war in Ukraine.

In a sign the truce had some impact, the Ukrainian army said it had recorded no long range Shahed drone attacks, guided aerial bombings or missile strikes.

Ukraine has had to deal with barrages of hundreds of Russian drones on a near-nightly basis, prompting retaliation from Ukraine.

In northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Lieutenant Colonel Vasyl Kobziak told AFP yesterday morning that things were "rather calm" in his sector.

While the 32-year-old officer said the truce had not been "fully" observed, the lull had allowed his soldiers of the 33rd Mechanised Brigade to attend an Easter Sunday mass outside in the freezing forest chill.

"Our comrades have the chance, as you can see, to have their Easter baskets blessed and to feel the warmth and joy of this holiday," he told AFP, referring to the religious tradition of priests blessing food and eggs.

In Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, Governor Alexander Khinshtein also accused Ukraine of breaking the ceasefire by attacking a petrol station in the town of Lgov with a drone, injuring three people, including a baby.

Residents in Ukraine's southern city of Zaporizhzhia were sceptical about Russia's intentions.

"I think they're using this as a cover to reconvene," said 28-year-old manager Vladyslav.

"If we're going to declare a ceasefire, it shouldn't be for just one day," said 58-year-old economist Maryna.

Recent months have seen several rounds of US-brokered negotiations fail to bring the warring parties closer to an agreement to stop the fighting, triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion.

The process has stalled further since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, with Washington's attention having shifted towards Iran.

But even before the Iran war, progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine had been slow due to differences over the issue of territory.

Ukraine has proposed freezing the conflict along the current frontlines.

But Russia has rejected this, saying it wants the whole of the Donetsk region despite it being partly controlled by Ukraine - a demand Kyiv says is unacceptable.

The war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes, making it Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Russia, whose battlefield advances have slowed since last year, has paid a high price in manpower for relatively small territorial gains.

Russia occupies just over 19% of Ukraine, most of which was seized during the first weeks of the conflict.