KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine on Saturday accused Russia of hundreds of violations of a Kremlin-declared ceasefire over Orthodox Easter.
Ukraine’s general staff said attacks had continued, recording 469 breaches of the truce, including hundreds of drone strikes, 153 instances of shelling and 22 assault operations.
The 32-hour ceasefire, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, went into effect at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT) and was to last through end of Sunday.
There was no immediate response from Moscow to the allegations.
However, authorities in the Russian-controlled city of Nova Kakhovka in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region accused Kyiv of violating the truce, reporting drone attacks shortly after it began and saying at least one person was injured.
Putin had announced the truce as a humanitarian gesture to allow people in both countries to celebrate Orthodox Easter.
Both sides had said they would respond to any violations, though no such retaliatory actions were initially confirmed in public statements by officials.
Earlier on Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russia against breaching the ceasefire, saying Ukraine would only hold fire if Moscow refrained from attacks. “As long as there are no Russian attacks in the air, on land or at sea, there will be no response from our side,” he said on Telegram after consultations with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
“The Ukrainian army is prepared for any developments on the front line,” Zelenskyy added, reiterating a proposal to extend the temporary truce into a broader ceasefire. “A ceasefire at Easter could also mark the start of a genuine move towards peace,” he said.
The Kremlin, however, repeatedly signaled this week that hostilities would resume once the truce expires so long as Kyiv refuses to accept Russia’s conditions for peace, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the Donbas region.
Hours before the ceasefire took effect, overnight Russian drone strikes killed two people in the southern Odesa region. In the northeastern Sumy region, local authorities reported at least 17 people injured in Russian attacks.
Meanwhile, the two sides carried out a prisoner exchange, each releasing 175 prisoners of war, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry, which also said seven Russian civilians had been returned. The United Arab Emirates mediated the swap.
Zelenskyy confirmed the exchange, saying the released Ukrainians included soldiers from multiple branches of the armed forces, many of whom had been held since 2022.
The war, now in its fifth year, has seen repeated attempts at temporary ceasefires, with both sides frequently accusing each other of violations.