Ukraine and Russia Accuse Each Other of Breaching Easter Ceasefire Agreement

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Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of violating a ceasefire that was put in place for Orthodox Easter. The truce, which was agreed upon by both sides, was intended to last for 32 hours but has seen significant breaches.

According to Ukrainian military officials, there were 2,299 recorded ceasefire violations between April 12 and 8:00 am on the same day. These included 28 enemy assault actions, 479 enemy shellings, and 747 strikes by attack drones.

In response, Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed that Ukraine had breached the ceasefire nearly 2,000 times. The ministry stated that Ukrainian forces had fired 258 times using artillery or tanks, carried out 1,329 FPV drone strikes, and dropped various types of munitions on 375 occasions.

The Kremlin has stated that it will not extend the truce unless Kyiv agrees to its terms. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “sustainable peace can come when we secure our interests and achieve the goals we set from the very start.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have reported no long-range Shahed drone attacks or guided aerial bombings during the truce period. However, they have acknowledged that there were some breaches of the ceasefire.

In a statement, Lieutenant Colonel Vasyl Kobziak said that while the truce had not been fully observed, it had allowed his soldiers to attend an Easter Sunday mass outside in the freezing forest chill.

The truce was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, more than a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a halt to hostilities. A similar agreement was made last year, but both sides accused each other of numerous violations.

Recent months have seen several rounds of United States-brokered negotiations fail to bring the warring parties closer to an agreement to stop the fighting.

Source: Al Jazeera