A temporaryceasefirebetweenRussiaandUkrainefor Orthodox Easterbegan on Saturday afternoon as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war falter.
The Kremlin said it had ordered a a 32-hour trucetrucefrom Saturday at 4pm (13:00 GMT) until midnight on Sunday.
Russia's Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and army chief Valery Gerasimov have been instructed to "cease hostilities in all directions during this period", the Kremlin said.
Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskysaid Kyiv had "repeatedly stated" it was ready for a ceasefire overEasterand was willing to reciprocate.
Ukraine's military said it had documented 469 Russian violations of the ceasefire after it went into effect.
"After 16:00 (Kyiv time), 469 violations of the ceasefire regime were recorded," the General Staff of Ukraine's military wrote on social media.
"Specifically, 22 enemy assault actions, 153 shelling incidents, 19 strikes by attack drones ... and 275 strikes by (First-Person View) drones."
On the Russian side, Alexander Khinshtein, governor of the Kursk region, wrote on the state-backed messenger service MAX that a Ukrainian drone had struck a petrol station in the town of Lgov, injuring three people, including a child. Khinshtein said the attack took place after the start of the truce.
In the adjacent Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said two people were injured in Ukrainian drone attacks. Gladkov, writing on Telegram, said a man and woman were injured in attacks in Shebekino and Grayvoron, two small towns just inside the border. He also said Ukrainian forces had shelled Shebekino, damaging homes and other buildings. Gladkov gave no specific time for when the incidents occurred, but his post appeared after the ceasefire went into effect.
Reuters could not independently verify reports ofmilitaryactivity.
Read moreUkrainians sceptical as Kremlin orders Easter truce
The temporary ceasefire came as US-led talks on ending the four-year-old conflict have been derailed by theMiddle East war.
The two sides also held a ceasefire for Orthodox Easter last year.
Authorities in Ukraine's southernOdesasaid on Saturday that two people had been killed in Russian strikes, and two others wounded, just hours before the ceasefire was set to begin.
Two people were killed and around 15 others wounded overnight Friday in two separate attacks in Ukraine's central region of Poltava, and Sumy, a region in the northeast, regional authorities said.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 128dronesagainst the country overnight Thursday.
Slowdown in Russian military operations
Several rounds of US-led talks have failed to bring the warring sides closer to an agreement and Washington's attention is now focused on Iran.
The negotiations have become deadlocked, withMoscowdemanding territorial and political concessions that Zelensky has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russia had discussed the ceasefire with Ukraine or the United States in advance and said it was not linked to negotiations to end the war.
The war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes, making it Europe's deadliest conflict sinceWorld War II.
Over the past few years, fighting on the fronthas come to a near standstill. Russia has made small territorial gains at a high cost.
ButKyivrecently managed to push back in the southeast and Russian advances have been slowing since late 2025, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Apart from Ukrainian counter-attacks, analysts attributed the slowdown to Russia being banned from usingSpaceX's Starlink satellites and Moscow'sown efforts to block the Telegram messaging app.
The situation is, however, unfavourable for Ukraine in theDonetskregion, towards the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, according to the ISW.
Moscow occupies just over 19 percent of Ukraine, most of which was seized during the first weeks of the conflict.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
Originally published on France24
