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Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating the 30-hour Easter ceasefire on April 20, 2025. The unilateral ceasefire was put in place by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to mark the Orthodox Christians’ Easter weekend.

The ceasefire began at 18:00 Moscow time on April 19, until 00:00 on April 21. “I order a ceasefire during this period. We expect the Ukrainian side to follow our example,” Putin said after receiving a detailed report from Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

The announcement came during a meeting in the Kremlin, where Putin emphasized the importance of restraint and vigilance during the truce.

He said that Russian forces were to halt all hostilities but remain alert to “potential violations and provocations by the enemy, including any aggressive actions.” Putin also expressed disappointment in what he described as Kyiv’s previous violations of agreements not to target energy infrastructure, noting over 100 such incidents.

Ukraine’s response

Despite Russia’s formal announcement of the ceasefire, Ukraine accused Moscow of violating the truce within hours of its commencement. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy posted on X, “There have already been 67 Russian assaults against our positions across various directions, with the highest number in the Pokrovsk direction.”

“There were a total of 1,355 cases of Russian shelling, 713 of which involved heavy weaponry. The Russians also used FPVs 673 times,” Zelenskyy added.

Zelenskyy criticized Russia for trying to create a false image of compliance. “Moscow must fully comply with the conditions of the ceasefire,” he said. He went on to assert that between the start of the ceasefire and midnight Sunday, there had been over 300 incidents of shelling, 19 assaults, and 290 drone deployments by Russian forces.

Despite these claims, Zelenskyy reiterated Kyiv’s openness to peace. “Ukraine’s proposal to implement and extend the ceasefire for 30 days after midnight tonight remains on the table. We will act according to the actual situation on the ground,” he said.

Adding to his remarks, Zelenskyy highlighted continued military activity in Russian border territories, including the Kursk and Belgorod regions. He underlined Ukraine’s long-standing position on the origins of the conflict.

“What matters most now is that it is finally clear who has truly been the cause of this war all along. The moment Putin ordered a reduction in the intensity and brutality of attacks, fighting and killings decreased,” Zelenskyy claimed. “The sole cause of this war and its prolongation lies in Russia.”

Moscow counterclaims

Shortly after Zelenskyy’s accusations, Russian officials issued their claims of Ukrainian ceasefire violations. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Kyiv had carried out numerous attacks since the ceasefire was announced, including an overnight offensive involving 48 drones and extensive mortar fire.

A ministry statement alleged that Ukraine launched gun and mortar attacks 444 times and conducted more than 900 drone operations. Russia claimed these assaults targeted front-line Russian military positions and civilian infrastructure in the border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk.

“As a result, there are civilian casualties and injuries, as well as damage to civilian objects,” the statement read. Russian officials insisted that their forces had been strictly adhering to the declared truce.

Rodion Miroshnik, ambassador-at-large at the Russian Foreign Ministry, further amplified Moscow’s allegations. On Telegram, he accused Ukraine of launching strikes on territories under Russian control in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Kherson, and Luhansk regions.

In a televised interview, Miroshnik stated that “reports on alleged Ukrainian violations continue to arrive,” arguing that these developments indicate Kyiv’s inability or unwillingness to implement a meaningful pause in hostilities.

Gerasimov reports advances in the Russian military campaign

During the Kremlin briefing before the commencement of the ceasefire, Russian military chief General Valery Gerasimov outlined ongoing developments in Russia’s “special military operation.” He claimed that Russian forces had successfully regained control over a majority of the Kursk Region, an area previously invaded by Ukrainian forces.

“The main part of the region’s territory, covering approximately 1,260 square kilometers (accounting for about 99.5% of the region) has now been liberated,” Gerasimov stated. He also reported on operations in the Gornal area, where the 810th Marines Brigade was reportedly conducting combat missions against entrenched Ukrainian units.

In the Belgorod Region, Gerasimov said that Ukrainian attempts to breach Russian territory near Demidovka and Popovka had failed. “At present, there are no enemy forces in the Demidovka area; the territory has been cleared,” he noted, although acknowledging that small groups of up to 12 men remained isolated in nearby forests.

Fragile peace and mounting mistrust

The Easter ceasefire, intended as a humanitarian pause, quickly became a microcosm of the broader war, a theater of military confrontation matched by competing narratives. With each side presenting its version of events, the truth of what occurred during the truce remains obscured by the fog of war.

While both leaders publicly expressed interest in dialogue, the short ceasefire episode reveals the deep-seated mistrust that continues to undermine even temporary efforts at peace. Putin said Russia remains open to negotiations and welcomed the engagement of international actors like the U.S. and China in pursuing a “just and peaceful resolution” to the crisis.

Similarly, Zelenskyy proposed extending the ceasefire by 30 days “if a complete ceasefire truly takes hold.” Yet, without a jointly agreed framework or verification mechanism, each side accuses the other of exploiting the truce for military or public relations gains.

In the absence of independent monitoring and mutual trust, efforts to implement a temporary ceasefire appear doomed to unravel, leaving civilians in contested regions vulnerable. As both Russia and Ukraine signal conditional openness to extended pauses in hostilities, the international community watches closely, hoping for a breakthrough in a war where even a moment of peace has proven elusive.