Hours after a U.S.-brokered three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine entered into force on Saturday, mutual accusations of violations have thrown the temporary truce into chaos, marking a rocky start to the pause in fighting announced by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump announced Friday that both Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to his request for a ceasefire running from Saturday to Monday, timed to coincide with Russia’s May 9 Victory Day holiday marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The agreement also included a planned prisoner swap, with Trump framing the pause in hostilities as a potential turning point, saying it could become the “beginning of the end” of the full-scale war that has dragged on for years.
The ceasefire quickly saw outbreaks of violence, however, with both sides trading blame for breaches. On Sunday, Russian officials issued sweeping claims of widespread Ukrainian violations. Russia’s Ministry of Defense alleged Kyiv had committed more than 1,000 breaches of the truce terms, according to Russian state media, which cited the ministry’s daily Sunday briefing. The defense ministry claimed Ukrainian forces targeted both civilian sites across multiple Russian regions and Russian military positions along the front line, adding that Russian armed forces had launched “responded in kind” to the Ukrainian attacks.
In the Russian-occupied portion of Ukraine’s Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo — the Moscow-appointed leader of the area — said two local residents had been injured by Ukrainian cross-border shelling.
Ukrainian officials have not explicitly accused Moscow of violating the truce, but have confirmed multiple deadly and damaging Russian strikes across Ukrainian territory over the 24-hour period ending Sunday. In Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, governor Ivan Fedorov confirmed one civilian was killed and three more were wounded in combined artillery and drone attacks.
Ukraine’s Kherson regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported seven wounded civilians from Russian strikes over the same period. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, regional head Oleh Syniehubov reported late Saturday that five people were injured after a Russian drone strike hit a nine-story apartment building in the city’s industrial district.
Ukraine’s air force announced Sunday that its air defense units had intercepted and destroyed all 27 of the strike and decoy drones Russian forces launched overnight, a major success for Kyiv’s air defense network.
Tensions around the Victory Day holiday have added a layer of political theatre to the truce. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously suggested Russian authorities were on edge about possible Ukrainian drone attacks over Moscow’s May 9 parade on Red Square, saying Russian officials “fear drones may buzz over Red Square” during the event. Following Trump’s ceasefire announcement, Zelenskyy issued a mocking statement saying Ukraine would temporarily refrain from striking Red Square to allow the parade to proceed without disruption. The Kremlin dismissed the comment as a “silly joke.”
This development comes as the international community continues to monitor shifts in the conflict, with the temporary ceasefire raising tentative hopes for de-escalation even as violence continues on the ground.