Ukraine and Russia traded accusations on Sunday of breaching an Orthodox Easter truce thousands of times, as the five-year war showed little sign of abating despite a temporary halt to hostilities agreed for the religious holiday.

Both sides had committed to observing the ceasefire after Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Thursday to a proposal made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky more than a week earlier. The truce was due to last for 32 hours, from 4:00 pm Saturday until the end of the day Sunday, according to the Kremlin.

But as with a similar agreement last year, only relative calm prevailed along the 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) frontline.

Ukraine's military general staff reported 2,299 ceasefire violations as of 7:00 am on April 12.

"Specifically: 28 enemy assault actions, 479 enemy shellings, 747 strikes by attack drones... and 1,045 strikes by FPV drones," the military said in a Facebook post.

However, in a sign that the truce had some effect, Ukrainian officials noted there were no missile strikes, guided aerial bomb strikes, or Shahed-type UAV attacks – a departure from the near-nightly barrages of hundreds of Russian drones that Ukraine has had to endure.

Russia's Defense Ministry offered a strikingly similar tally, accusing Kyiv of nearly 2,000 breaches of its own.

"A total of 1,971 ceasefire violations by units of the Ukrainian armed forces were recorded between 4:00 pm Moscow time on April 11 and 8:00 am on April 12," the ministry said.

Moscow claimed that Ukrainian forces had fired 258 times using artillery or tanks, carried out 1,329 FPV drone strikes, and dropped "various types of munitions" on 375 occasions, notably via drones. The ministry also accused Ukrainian troops of launching "three nighttime attacks" and "four attempts to advance" along the frontline, all of which it claimed to have thwarted.

Despite the competing claims, there were indications that the truce had brought some respite to certain sectors.

In northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Lieutenant Colonel Vasyl Kobziak told AFP on Sunday morning that things were "rather calm" in his sector. While the 32-year-old officer acknowledged the truce had not been "fully" observed, the lull allowed soldiers from the 33rd Mechanized Brigade to attend an Easter Sunday mass outdoors in the freezing forest.

"Our comrades have the chance, as you can see, to have their Easter baskets blessed and to feel the warmth and joy of this holiday," he said, referring to the tradition of priests blessing food and eggs.

In Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, Governor Alexander Khinshtein accused Kyiv of breaking the ceasefire by attacking a gas station in the town of Lgov with a drone. He said three people were injured, including a baby.

In his evening address on Saturday, Zelensky called for a longer ceasefire, insisting that the ball was now in Moscow's court.

A similar ceasefire was announced for Orthodox Easter last year, only for both sides to accuse each other of numerous violations. This year's experience suggests that while the truce may have tempered the most intense forms of attack – such as missile and long-range drone strikes – frontline skirmishes and drone warfare have continued largely unabated. (ILKHA)