Russia and Ukraine Trade Accusations Over Broken Easter Ceasefire:

In what was intended to be a ceasefire for humanitarian purposes over the Easter weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a 30 hour ceasefire on the conflict. The temporary peace was set from Saturday evening through to Sunday night. Moreover, Ukrainian figurehead Volodymyr Zelensky stated Russian military activity continued despite the ceasefire and the humanitarian pause put in place.
It should be remembered that Zelensky reported that Russian forces maintained unrestrained artillery shelling and were partaking in thrusts beyond the front line. Arguments such as these were made plausible by data from Ukraine’s military leadership who stated there was significant increase in drone usage and striking immediately after the pause.
Blame and Reports From the Front Line Blame Alongside Evidence From The Fronline

Ukrainian authorities maintained that Russia perpetrated 19 assaults and 387 incidents of bombardments within the first 6 hours of the ceasefire. These claims were corroborated with accusations of 290 drone launches by Russian forces. On the other side of the conflict, Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported having to push back what they described foreign attempts at having Ukrainian advances including drone and shell strikes which they claimed resulted in civilian casualties.

According to the reports by AFP journalists, explosion sounds could be heard from the eastern frontline on Sunday morning around the same time the ceasefire was observation -. ceasefire or not the conflicts remains active and unbothered by international law.

Zelensky Submits Proposal For Ceasefire Extension

The president suggested to extend the ceasefire with wishes of making it above the zealous ideas of unmoving Russia’s proposition of 30 days which aims to turn the festive day of Easter into a mockery which could be explained as enthusiasts’s desperate hope to overt relations of Russia and the West and Muslims of the world.

Putin claimed before that his forces need to be ready to respond to any provocations during the truce period, showing that a cautious approach is taken, thus there is not full commitment to stopping combat operations.

Public Reaction and Trust Issues
Ukrainian citizens were skeptical regarding the ceasefire, pointing to trust issues stemming from broken promises. While many in Kyiv received the longer proposed truce positively, they expressed skepticism about how Russia would honor its commitments.

Voices in Moscow, however, were less enthusiastic about pausing military action. Some citizens argued that any form of ceasefire would only serve Ukraine and impede Russia’s repositioning strategy.

Historical Context and Ceasefire Challenges
Since the invasion started in February 2022, multiple attempts at a ceasefire during religious holidays have failed, underpinned by mutual mistrust, escalated hostilities, and battlefield dynamics. There has been no successful agreed pause for Easter 2022, or Orthdox Christmas 2023.

Even with increased recent diplomacy, including statements from the U.S., a long-term ceasefire or peace deal is still very difficult to achieve.