Moscow, Apr 13:
Moscow on Sunday accused Ukraine of violating the Kremlin-declared 32-hour Orthodox Easter truce by targeting positions of Russian troops.
Russia recorded nearly two thousand ceasefire violations by Ukrainian forces during the initial 16 hours of the truce, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday.
“Although the Easter ceasefire had been declared, the Ukrainian armed forces attacked the positions of Russian troops three times from the Pokrovskoye area last night,” it said in a post on the social media platform Max.
The settlements of Gai were targeted twice in the ceasefire violations on Saturday night, along with Otradnoye in the Dnepropetrovsk Region, it said.
All the attacks were repelled, it added.
“A total of 1,971 ceasefire violations by the Ukrainian armed forces were recorded between 4:00 pm Moscow time on April 11 and 8:00 am Moscow time on April 12,” the Defence Ministry release said on Sunday.
Russian forces also thwarted four Ukrainian attempts to advance toward positions near Kondratovka and Novaya Sech in the Sumy Region, as well as Kaleniki in the Donetsk People’s Republic, it said.
The Ukrainian news portal UNIAN.NET also reported several ceasefire violations by Russian forces, including an attack on an ambulance in the Sumy region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Easter truce late Thursday night, directing Defence Minister Andrey Belousov and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov to halt fire starting at 4 pm on Saturday along the 1,300-km front in eastern Ukraine.
In a separate development, Putin on Saturday attended the Easter Service in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow.
He praised the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations for their significant role in preserving Russia’s historical and cultural heritage, promoting family values, and educating the youth.