Easter Ceasefire Collapses in Blame: Russia and Ukraine Accuse Each Other of Violations

KYIV / MOSCOW, April 12, 2026 — The 32-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine collapsed into a familiar exchange of accusations on Sunday, with both sides claiming the other had violated the truce within hours of it taking effect. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed it had recorded 1,971 Ukrainian ceasefire violations between the start of the truce and 8am Moscow time, including multiple nighttime attacks on Russian positions in the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, and Donetsk regions, according to Anadolu Agency. Ukraine’s General Staff responded with its own count — 2,299 Russian violations — including 28 front-line assaults, 479 cases of shelling, 747 kamikaze drone strikes, and 1,045 first-person view drone strikes in the same period.

Independent verification of either set of claims is not possible given the ongoing conflict, now in its fifth year. The ceasefire had been declared by President Vladimir Putin on Thursday April 9, running from 1300 GMT on Saturday April 11 to midnight on Sunday April 12. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had confirmed Kyiv would honour it. Both sides had accused each other of breaches within hours of the truce beginning — repeating almost exactly the pattern of the 2025 Easter ceasefire, when Russia claimed approximately 5,000 Ukrainian violations and Zelenskyy accused Russia of nearly 3,000 breaches during a 30-hour truce. On that occasion Russian forces resumed full-scale strikes the moment the ceasefire expired. The ceasefire comes as wider diplomatic efforts to end the four-year war remain stalled, with Washington’s attention focused on the Iran conflict and the failed Islamabad negotiations with Tehran.

Sources

• Anadolu Agency — Russia, Ukraine Accuse Each Other of Violating Orthodox Easter Ceasefire (April 12, 2026)