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On Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defence accused Ukraine of “more than a thousand violations of the Easter ceasefire announced by the Kremlin”, claiming that the attacks damaged infrastructure and caused civilian casualties, particularly in the border areas of Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions. Reuters reports this with reference to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Defence.
“As a result, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population, as well as damage to civilian objects,” the statement, circulated via Telegram, said.
Reuters has not yet been able to independently confirm these figures.
Ukraine responded with its own statistics
In turn, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had inflicted 444 fire strikes on Russian positions and recorded more than 900 combat sorties by Ukrainian drones. These actions, according to Kyiv, were a response to nighttime attacks and breakthrough attempts by Russia, which had actually violated the Easter ceasefire before it even began.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy directly called Putin’s initiative an imitation of a ceasefire, noting that hundreds of attacks took place on Saturday night alone, and 59 attacks and 5 assault attempts by the Russian Federation on Sunday morning.
One more capture before the truce
The Russian Ministry of Defence also claimed that the village of Novomykhailivka in Donetsk region had fallen under Russian control before the ceasefire was officially announced. This report came amid a general escalation in eastern Ukraine, but there has been no confirmation from the Ukrainian side.
Context: Easter truce as a propaganda gesture
The one-day “Easter truce” announced by Vladimir Putin was met with scepticism both in Ukraine and in the West. Kyiv points out that Russia rejected a 30-day truce proposed by the US back in March, and that the one-day pause is just a political stunt amid the threat of a breakdown in peace talks.
The EU and the UN called on Russia to end the war completely and not to make unilateral “gestures”. Official Kyiv reiterated its readiness for a long-term ceasefire, but will act in a mirror image in response to Russia’s actions.
