Most incidents involved short-range FPV drone strikes, the military says

Ukrainian forces violated a 32-hour Easter ceasefire more than 6,500 times over theweekend, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the unilateral pause last week. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky signaled that Kiev would also observe the truce, and called on Moscow to extend it beyond the holiday period.

According to the Russian military, combat activity decreased significantly on Saturday and Sunday but did not fully stop. The ministry said most of the 6,558 reported violations involved short-range unmanned aerial vehicles. It listed 4,685 strikes by first-person-view (FPV) drones and 749 munitions dropped from drones. Ukrainian forces also reportedly conducted 694 artillery and tank attacks on Russian positions.

Russian air defenses reportedly intercepted 33 long-range drones, including 11 over the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk.

The ministry stressed that Russian troops held their positions and did not initiate attacks during the truce, disputing claims from Ukrainian officials.

Moscow has declared temporary ceasefires during previous Orthodox holidays, including Christmas 2023 and Easter 2025. According to the Russian military, the previous Easter truce saw more than 3,900 violations by Ukraine.

Russian officials have rejected calls from Kiev for longer ceasefires, citing a lack of trust. They argue that Ukraine intends to use extended pauses to regroup and reinforce its forces with Western support rather than pursue genuine peace negotiations.

Moscow has also said that Ukraine's withdrawal from the Donetsk People's Republic would be viewed as a meaningful step toward a resolution and a basis for a longer ceasefire, but Zelensky has refused to order a withdrawal.

(RT.com)