Russia-Ukraine ceasefire expires as 32-hour Easter truce comes to end
Russia-Ukraine ceasefire ends following the Orthodox Easter holiday amid a flurry of mutual accusations of violations.
A Russia-Ukraine ceasefire has ended following a 32-hour truce for Orthodox Easter.
Moscow and Kiev have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, reporting more than a thousand drone and shelling attacks just hours after the truce began on Saturday.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed in a statement that it recorded a total of 1,971 ceasefire violations by Ukraine overnight Sunday.
It added that there were multiple nighttime attacks by Ukrainian troops on Russian positions in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Donetsk regions.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's General Staff claimed in a separate statement that it recorded a total of 7,696 violations since the start of the truce until 10 pm Sunday.
This figure included 1,355 artillery attacks, 115 assault operations, and 6,226 kamikaze drone strikes.
Independent verification of the claims is difficult due to the ongoing war, which entered its fifth year in February.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the ceasefire on Thursday, ordering the military command to prepare for its implementation and warning that if Ukraine undertakes a provocation, Moscow will respond.
Hours before the ceasefire came into force, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kiev would join the initiative and act "in a mirror manner."
Despite these commitments, both sides accused each other of breaches just hours into the truce.