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Russia, Ukraine trade accusations of Orthodox Easter ceasefire violations

By Thomson Reuters Apr 12, 2026 | 5:02 AM

KYIV/MOSCOW, April 12 (Reuters) – Russia and Ukraine accused each other L1N40U064 on Sunday of breaching the 32-hour ceasefire L1N40S124 ​in their four-year war, reporting ‌more than a thousand drone and shelling attacks just hours after the truce began on Saturday to mark Orthodox Easter.

The Russian defence ministry said ‌it ​recorded 1,971 ceasefire violations overnight ⁠into Sunday, while ⁠Ukraine’s general staff reported 479 shelling attacks and more than 1,700 drone strikes by Russian troops.

According to the calendar of ​the Orthodox faith dominant in both countries, Easter is celebrated this year on ⁠Sunday.

Russia said a child ⁠was among civilians injured in ​a Ukrainian drone attack on the Kursk region, ​while the Belgorod region’s governor Vyacheslav Gladkov ‌reported two people killed by Ukrainian shelling.

Ukraine’s State Emergencies Service said two civilians were wounded on Sunday by a Russian ⁠drone attack in Kharkiv region.

Reuters could not independently verify reports of military activity.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ⁠announced nL1N40S124 ‌the temporary Orthodox Easter ceasefire ⁠on April 9, and it ​is ‌set to end at midnight (2100 GMT) ​Sunday.

Ukrainian ⁠President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whose previous ceasefire proposals were turned down by Moscow, agreed to the truce.

(Reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv and other Reuters staff;Editing by David Goodman and ​Bernadette Baum)