Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of violating Orthodox Easter ceasefire

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine accused each other Sunday of violating a Kremlin-declared Easter ceasefire that took effect less than 24 hours earlier.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4 p.m. on Saturday until the end of Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised to abide by the ceasefire, but warned there would be a swift military response to any violations.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a statement Sunday that it had recorded 2,299 ceasefire violations by 7 a.m. local time, including assaults, shelling and small drone launches. It said that the use of long-range drones, missiles, or guided bombs had not been reported.

A Ukrainian military officer told The Associated Press Saturday that Russian forces had continued to attack their positions.

Russia’s Defense Ministry also said Sunday it had recorded 1,971 ceasefire violations by Ukrainian forces, including drone strikes on Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions that injured civilians.

Previous attempts to secure ceasefires have had little or no impact, with the two sides blaming each other for violations.

Putin unilaterally declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of breaking it.