Russia and Ukraine on Saturday exchanged accusations of breaching a three-day ceasefire announced amid ongoing efforts to ease tensions in the prolonged conflict between both countries.
The temporary truce, reportedly brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, coincides with Russia’s World War II Victory Day celebrations and includes plans for a prisoner swap involving 1,000 detainees from each side.
Despite the ceasefire agreement, both Moscow and Kyiv accused one another of continuing attacks using drones and artillery.
Ukraine’s General Staff claimed Russian forces carried out at least 51 attacks since the beginning of the day.
Volodymyr Petrov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s 33rd Separate Mechanised Brigade operating in the eastern Kharkiv region, said Russian troops were still conducting drone and artillery strikes despite the truce.
“The ceasefire is ongoing, but the Russians are still attacking with drones and artillery. We’re responding in kind,” Petrov told AFP.
Ukraine’s Air Force, however, noted a reduction in aerial attacks, saying Russia launched 44 drones overnight from Friday into Saturday — one of the lowest numbers recorded in recent months.
Russia’s Defence Ministry also accused Ukrainian forces of violating the ceasefire, alleging that Ukrainian troops launched artillery and drone attacks against Russian military positions.
The ministry did not disclose the exact number of reported violations.
Although large-scale strikes were not reported, casualties continued to occur on both sides during the ceasefire period.
Local authorities in Ukraine said Russian drone attacks killed two civilians and injured three others in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
In Russia’s Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said three people sustained injuries following Ukrainian drone strikes.
Meanwhile, no attacks were reported during Russia’s Victory Day parade held at Red Square in Moscow.
The war, now in its fourth year, has witnessed several short-term ceasefires, particularly during religious holidays such as Orthodox Easter. Most of those truces have been accompanied by accusations of violations from both sides.
The conflict has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and displaced millions, making it Europe’s deadliest war since World War II.
