Moscow and Kyiv accused each other on Sunday of breaching a unilateral Easter ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as intense fighting and drone attacks continued along the front lines and border regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there were already 59 incidents of Russian shelling and five ground assaults by 6:00 a.m. Sunday, citing a frontline report by Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. Zelenskyy claimed over 300 shelling instances and 19 assaults occurred between the start of the ceasefire and midnight, with drones deployed nearly 290 times by Russian forces during that period. "Moscow is trying to create the illusion of a ceasefire," Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that Ukraine is ready to extend the truce for 30 more days if "a complete ceasefire truly takes hold." Zelenskyy also alleged continued fighting in Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions, stating, "The moment Putin ordered a reduction in the intensity and brutality of attacks, fighting and killings decreased. The sole cause of this war and of its prolongation lies in Russia." President Putin had announced a 30-hour unilateral ceasefire on Saturday, timed around Orthodox Easter, saying it would test Kyiv's willingness to seek peace. The truce began at 6:00 p.m. Moscow time on Saturday and is set to last until midnight Monday. In a statement Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry denied violating the ceasefire and claimed Ukrainian forces had attacked Russian positions 444 times with gun and mortar fire, and launched 48 drones overnight. The statement also claimed Ukraine conducted 900 drone sorties, targeting border areas in Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk, resulting in civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large, also accused Kyiv of launching multiple strikes on Russian-controlled territories in Donetsk, Kherson, and Luhansk since the truce began. Speaking on Solovyov Live, Miroshnik said, "The ongoing attacks prove Kyiv's inability or unwillingness to implement a real ceasefire." Despite international calls for de-escalation, the ongoing accusations underscore the fragile nature of any potential pause in fighting in the more than two-year-old war. — Agencies
