Sawt Falasteen - Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of breaching Easter truce

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces were continuing their shelling and assaults along the front line despite Putin announcing the surprise truce.

The 30-hour truce starting Saturday evening to mark the religious holiday would be the most significant pause in the fighting throughout the three-year conflict.

But Zelensky accused Russia of having maintained its attacks on the front line after the truce started.

Russia's defence ministry in turn said it had "repelled" attempted assaults by Ukraine and accused Kyiv of launching drones and shells, causing civilian casualties.

Zelensky said Sunday, citing Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky, that "an increase in Russian shelling and the use of kamikaze drones has been observed since 10:00 am (0700 GMT)".

Earlier he said that the first six hours of the ceasefire saw "387 instances of shelling and 19 assaults by Russian forces," with drones "used by Russians 290 times".

Ukraine's air force on Sunday morning had not reported any drone or missile attacks, however.

AFP journalists heard explosions on Sunday morning around a dozen kilometres (seven miles) from the front line in east Ukraine.

Ukraine will respond "symmetrically" to any attacks, Zelensky said, accusing Russia of "attempting to create the general impression of a ceasefire" while continuing isolated attacks.

Russia's defence ministry said that "despite the announcement of the Easter truce, Ukrainian units at night made attempts to attack" its positions in the Donetsk region, "which were repelled".

Overnight, it said, Ukraine "444 times shelled... the positions of our troops and carried out 900 strikes with drones".

These attacks left civilians "dead and wounded", the ministry said, without giving details.

It insisted its troops had "strictly observed the ceasefire and stayed at the front lines and positions they previously occupied".

Putin's order to halt all combat over the Easter weekend came after months of efforts by US President Donald Trump to get Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire.

On Friday, Washington even threatened to withdraw from talks if no progress was made.

- 'Give peace a chance' -

Putin announced the truce from 1800 (1500 GMT) Saturday to midnight Sunday (2100 GMT Sunday) in televised comments, saying it was motivated by "humanitarian reasons".

While he expected Ukraine to comply, Putin said that Russian troops "must be ready to resist possible breaches of the truce and provocations by the enemy".

Zelensky said Ukraine would follow suit, and proposed extending the truce beyond Sunday.

"Russia must fully comply with the conditions of the ceasefire. Ukraine's proposal to implement and extend the ceasefire for 30 days after midnight tonight remains on the table," Zelensky's post said Sunday.

Earlier he suggested that "30 days could give peace a chance" -- while pointing out that Putin had already rejected a proposed 30-day full and unconditional ceasefire.

- 'Can't trust Russia' -

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.

Previous attempts at holding ceasefires for Easter in April 2022 and Orthodox Christmas in January 2023 were not implemented after both sides failed to agree on them.

In Kyiv on Sunday, as Easter bells rang out, people expressed doubts over whether Russia would observe a truce while welcoming Zelensky's proposal to extend it.

"They've already broken their promise. Unfortunately, we cannot trust Russia today," said 38-year-old Olga Grachova, who works in marketing.

"Our president has clearly said that if they announce a 30-hour ceasefire, we will announce a 30-day ceasefire. So let them go for it... so that this terrible war ends, so that our people, our soldiers, and children stop dying," said Sergiy Klochko, 30, a railway worker.

But Natalia, a 41-year-old medic, said of Zelensky's 30-day proposal: "Everything we offer, unfortunately, remains only our offers. Nobody responds to them."

On the streets of Moscow, Yevgeny Pavlov, 58, did not think Russia should give Ukraine a breather.

"There is no need to give them respite. If we press, it means we should press to the end," he told AFP.

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