In brief
In a dramatic escalation, Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of hundreds of ceasefire violations during a truce aimed at Orthodox Easter celebrations. The Ukrainian military reported nearly 2,300 violations attributed to Russian forces, while Russia cited around 2,000 claims from Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian President Zelensky expressed hopes for an extended ceasefire to foster peace talks, though Moscow dismissed the idea, reaffirming a return to military operations. This unfolding situation highlights the fragile nature of attempts at peace amidst ongoing hostilities.
Ukraine and Russia have each accused one another of hundreds of violations of a short ceasefire coinciding with Orthodox Easter celebrations.
The Ukrainian military said on Sunday morning that Russian forces had committed 2,299 violations since the truce began at 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday.
The Russian defence ministry, in turn, said Ukrainian forces had committed 1,971 violations, including three attempted counter-attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier said his nation's forces would respond symmetrically to Russian attacks during the ceasefire, calling Easter a time of peace.
He added that he hoped the truce could be extended beyond Easter to facilitate peace negotiations, which have all but stalled with the outbreak of war in the Middle East - but Russia rejected the idea, stating its attacks would resume on Monday.
Russian troops mounted 28 attacks and carried out nearly 2,000 drone strikes, according to Ukraine's military, which noted that bombs or missiles were not used.
In Ukraine's northern Sumy region, which borders Russia, local authorities reported that a Russian drone struck an ambulance overnight, injuring three medics.
Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine had launched three overnight attacks on positions in the Pokrovsk area and Otradne in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
It also reported that four attempts by Ukrainian troops to advance in Sumy and Donetsk were thwarted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally announced the Easter ceasefire earlier this week, having previously resisted repeated calls from Ukraine for a temporary cessation of fighting. Zelensky said his forces would respond in kind.
Earlier in the year, Putin accepted a US request to halt strikes on energy infrastructure as Ukraine braced for bitterly cold temperatures.
Both Ukrainian and Russian sources accused each other of limited violations in the first few hours of the truce on Saturday, before making much larger claims.
Ukrainian and Russian authorities also announced they had swapped 175 prisoners of war on Saturday, including seven civilians each.
Ukrainian civilians and soldiers on the frontlines of the conflict have low expectations about the ceasefire.
Kyiv has long pushed for a more comprehensive ceasefire, which it and its European allies see as a necessary first step towards reaching a lasting end to the full-scale invasion.
However, Moscow has insisted on agreeing to a peace deal first, prompting accusations that it is not serious about ending the fighting.
