Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of violating the “Easter Certain Fire” announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that the Ukrainian president was being violated from the moment it started.
As the short window approached, Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelenki quoted a report from military commander Oleksandr Silsky, saying, “Since the beginning of the day (Sunday), Russian troops have violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times.”
Putin will not extend the ceasefire, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Tas News Agency on Sunday. The ceasefire expires at midnight (21:00 GMT), and the US State Department says it will welcome the extension beyond Sunday.
In a surprising announcement on Saturday, Putin ordered his troops to “stop all military activities” along the frontline in the war with Ukraine, citing humanitarian reasons. The 30-hour suspension of hostilities would have been the most important suspension in combat throughout the three-year conflict.
However, hours after the order came into effect, sirens from air raids in Kiev and several other Ukrainian regions rang, and Zelensky accused Russia of maintaining the attack and engaging in public relations stunts.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Ukraine had broken the truce more than 1,000 times on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky said, “Overall, as of Easter morning, Russian forces are trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, and in some regions they continue to isolated attempts to advance and promote Ukraine’s losses.”
“In reality, President Putin has no complete control over his army or demonstrates that in Russia he has no intention of making a real move to end the war, and is only interested in reporting positive PR,” the Ukrainian leader added.
According to the Kremlin, the fighting stopped at 6pm (15:00 GMT) on Saturday for Easter until midnight on Sunday (21:00 GMT).
However, when church bells rang for Easter Services on Sunday, Kiev residents expressed doubt whether Russia would observe a short ceasefire.
Natalia Malaieva pointed out that at the moment of Kyiv, the air raid warnings were heard.
“The missiles and drones flew around. There was an explosion from the missiles,” she said. “What kind of ceasefire is that?”
Olha Malashuk added:
Accusations and counterargument
In a statement on social media on Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces shot Russia’s position 444 times, counting more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks.
It added that the border areas of Briance, Kursk and Belgorod had been under attack. “The result was deaths and injuries among civilians, and damages for civilian purposes,” the ministry said.
Tas, a Russian news agency, said at least three explosions were heard in Budennovsky district of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, citing sources of “operational services.”
The report accused Ukrainian forces of saying it was an attack that took place during a ceasefire. There were no immediate comments from Ukraine.
A Ukrainian military spokesman confirmed that frontline activity with Russia had declined, but combat had not stopped.
“It’s diminishing, but it’s not disappearing,” Victor Trevbov told national television.
“To be honest, I didn’t really want much hope for this to happen,” said a military spokesman for Ukraine’s Eastern Front.
In a report from Moscow, Al Jazeera’s Julia Shapovarova said that both sides are denounced against each other, but analysts say it’s almost impossible to stop all hostility right away. Generally, the battlefield situation is much more mild and the number of attacks is decreasing.
“Russia’s response to this ceasefire is very positive,” she added.
“People hope that continues, and analysts also say that Russia and Putin are likely to be in a favorable position for the moment for a longer truce and peace negotiations, given Russian interests on the battlefield and US efforts,” Shapovalova said.
“Pure political steps”
Former Russian vice minister Andrei Fedorov called Putin’s announcement a “pure political step” and said it was taken for both domestic and international reasons.
“Easter is one of Russia’s major holidays, and President Putin wants to show that he follows the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church,” he told Al Jazeera.
“At the same time, if Ukraine does the same thing, it’s a very important test for him, because when there is a new stage of speaking with Ukraine, it’s very important that Putin have a real argument saying, “Look, Ukraine hasn’t followed the agreement. Ukraine is breaking the halt.”
Putin’s announcement came the day after President Donald Trump said “washington would “take a pass” to try to resolve the Russian-Ukraine war if either Moscow or Kiev was too difficult to finish it.
A report from Washington, D.C., Al Jazeera’s Rosalind Jordan said neither side could afford to anger the Trump administration. “In particular, they have said very publicly in Washington, despite repeated mentions that President Trump is tired of the war between Ukraine and Russia.”
There was no response from the Trump administration this weekend to the development of the Ukrainian war.
Vladimir Sotnikov, an associate professor of international relations at a Moscow high school, said he fears Trump will “dive” into a peace plan that “will not work out in the near future.”
“Both sides – Ukraine and Russia are still very far from sitting at the table and trying to talk to each other,” Snikov told Al Jazeera.
“This was also a promised by President Trump,” he said. “But the main problem is that both sides still have deep distrust of each other.”