Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of breaching a ceasefire brokered by the United States, as hostilities continued during a planned three-day truce tied to a prisoner exchange. Despite the temporary halt to large-scale attacks, both sides reported casualties from artillery and drone strikes within the past 24 hours.
The ceasefire, announced by former U.S. President Donald Trump on May 8, was intended to coincide with Victory Day in Russia and facilitate the exchange of 1,000 prisoners. The truce was scheduled to last from Saturday through Monday, with both Moscow and Kyiv publicly agreeing to the terms.
Accusations and Casualties
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Sunday that Russia was not fully observing the truce and had shown little effort to adhere to it. He noted that while there was a pause in major offensives, the front lines remained active with skirmishes. Zelenskyy also affirmed Ukraine’s readiness to retaliate against any aggression from Russia, emphasizing increased Ukrainian capabilities to target locations deep inside Russian territory.
Ivan Fedorov, governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, reported one civilian death and three injuries in his area due to Russian artillery and drone attacks. Local officials across Ukraine confirmed an additional 16 casualties from varied attacks.
Conversely, Russia’s Ministry of Defense accused Ukrainian forces of more than 1,000 ceasefire violations, including attacks on civilian areas in Russian border regions and strikes on military positions. The ministry claimed to have responded proportionally. In the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Kherson region, two people were reportedly wounded by Ukrainian shelling, according to the area’s Moscow-appointed administrator Vladimir Saldo.
Diplomatic Context and Future Negotiations
The ceasefire follows previous short-term pauses in fighting, which have not led to lasting de-escalation amid persistent mistrust between the two countries. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov indicated that U.S. envoys involved in the war negotiations, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are expected to visit Moscow soon. However, Ushakov stressed that Moscow’s core demand remains for Ukrainian military withdrawal from the eastern Donbas region, a precondition Russia says must be met before meaningful progress can occur.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, reacting to Russian Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, made a sarcastic remark about refraining from drone strikes over Red Square during the parade. The Kremlin dismissed this as a trivial joke.
Why it matters
The ongoing violations under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire highlight the fragile nature of diplomatic efforts to end the war and the continuing violence affecting civilians on both sides. The prisoner swap represents a rare moment of cooperation, but without compliance efforts and trust-building, further fighting risks undermining peace prospects.
Sources
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