Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of hundreds of ceasefire violations

Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of hundreds of ceasefire violations

Both Ukraine and Russia have each leveled accusations against the other, citing numerous breaches during a brief truce aligned with Orthodox Easter festivities. According to Ukraine’s military report, Russian forces have been responsible for 2,299 breaches since the truce started at 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday, with reports of four unarmed soldiers being shot.

In response, Russia’s defense ministry stated that Ukrainian troops had carried out 1,971 violations, such as three attempted counter-attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk region. President Zelensky noted that his forces would ‘respond symmetrically’ to Russian assaults during the truce, referring to Easter as ‘a time of peace’.

“We hope the truce can be extended beyond Easter to support peace talks that have nearly halted due to the Middle East conflict,” Zelensky added. “But Russia dismissed this, stating it would recommence on Monday.”

Ukraine’s military asserted that the troops were targeted after being disarmed, calling it ‘another war crime by Russia.’ In the northeastern Kharkiv area, Russian troops executed four Ukrainian soldiers following the truce’s implementation, as noted by the local prosecutor’s office, which