‘We need real peace’: Easter truce fails to lift grim mood in war-torn Ukraine
‘We need real peace’: Easter truce fails to lift grim mood in war-torn Ukraine
A ceasefire that began with promise
The Orthodox Easter truce between Russia and Ukraine began on Saturday afternoon, yet just 38 minutes later, air raid sirens pierced the skies over Kharkiv region. Despite the agreed pause in hostilities, frontline reports revealed numerous violations, though none involved long-range missiles or drones. This 32-hour respite, intended to provide a moment of calm four years after the full-scale invasion, has been met with skepticism.
“Easter should be a time of safety, a time of peace,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, vowing that his forces would retaliate “strictly in kind” if Moscow breached the truce.
A ritual disrupted by war
At St John the Theologian Church, families gathered with baskets of iced Easter cakes, painted eggs, and sausages for a blessing. The mid-afternoon service, held under a curfew, saw parishioners line up to be sprinkled with holy water. Yet, the fragile ceasefire left many questioning its sincerity. “Do you believe them?” Fr Viktor asked, as he pondered the significance of the pause.
“Maybe there will be a pause,” suggested Larisa, a parishioner. “But then Russia will only launch even more intense attacks. We’ve seen that before.”
Preparation amid uncertainty
At a training site 12 miles from the Russian border, members of the Yasni Ochi strike UAV unit, part of Khartia Corps, tested new equipment. Troops practiced launching kamikaze drones, their commander Heorhiy ordering them to remain vigilant unless under attack. “Russia says one thing, then does the other,” he remarked, emphasizing the need for readiness.
“We need real peace talks,” Heorhiy stressed. “We used to have good civilian life, and my guys don’t like war.”
A truce in the shadow of destruction
Returning to Kharkiv, the ring road now stretches beneath netting designed to snare Russian drones. Yet, missiles continue to strike nearby homes, leaving buildings in ruins. In one suburb, five-storey flats lay shattered, while others remain boarded up and uninhabitable. Last month, a missile attack killed 11 people, reducing an entire building to rubble.
“This truce is only 1.5 days. But at least we can rest a bit, because here, you expect to die every second,” said Olha, a resident who sheltered with her elderly mother during the attack. She showed me footage of her flat reduced to pieces and flames devouring the opposite building.
Peace efforts stalled
While the Middle East conflict has drawn international attention to Ukraine’s drone expertise, the peace process initiated by the US has stalled. Trump’s envoys are now focused on their own war with Iran, leaving Ukraine to press for stronger security guarantees from allies. The commander, Heorhiy, highlighted the importance of these assurances, noting that the country cannot afford to pause until negotiations yield better outcomes.