Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Russian forces have been making a pretence of a one-day Easter ceasefire announced by President Vladimir Putin, continuing overnight attempts to inflict frontline losses on Ukraine.

Putin, hours before heading to an Orthodox Easter service late on Saturday, ordered his forces to "stop all military activity" along the front line in the three-year-old war until midnight Moscow time on Sunday.

The gesture followed a US announcement that it could abandon peace talks within days unless Moscow and Kyiv showed they were serious about negotiating.

"In general, as of Easter morning, we can say that the Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine," Zelensky said in a post on social media.

But he said there had been hundreds of instances of shelling on Saturday evening.

Early on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported 59 instances of shelling and five assault attempts along the front line, he added.

Ukraine's military confirmed that activity on the front line had decreased, but that the fighting had not stopped.

"It is decreasing, but it hasn't disappeared. To be honest, we didn't hold out much hope that this would actually happen," Viktor Trehubov, a military spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern front, told the national television.

In Russian-controlled Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, at least three blasts were heard early on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported.

Trump's peace push

US President Donald Trump has vowed to bring a swift end to the war, while shifting US policy from firmly supporting Kyiv towards accepting Moscow's account of the conflict.

Last month, after Ukraine accepted Trump's proposal for a 30-day truce but Moscow rejected it, the sides agreed only to limited pauses of attacks on energy targets and at sea, which each accuses the other of breaking.

Zelensky reiterated that Kyiv was willing to extend the ceasefire for 30 days but said that if Russia kept fighting on Sunday, so would Ukraine.

"Ukraine will continue to act in a mirror manner," he said.

The European Union reacted cautiously to Putin's ceasefire declaration, saying Moscow could stop the war immediately if it wanted to.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric reiterated UN support "for meaningful efforts towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace that fully upholds Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity".

Analysts Maria Snegovaya of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly share their thoughts on Putin's Easter ceasefire. – Reuters

As of 45 minutes before the truce was meant to start, Ukrainian planes were repelling Russian air strikes, Zelensky said in a post on X.

Zelensky quoted Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, as saying that Russian assault operations "continue on several frontline sectors, and Russian artillery fire has not subsided".

"Therefore, there is no trust in words coming from Moscow."

Zelensky later expanded on Syrskyi's report, saying that Putin's ceasefire did not apply to Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions, border areas where Ukrainian forces have made incursions and where hostilities were still going on.

"Fighting continues, Russian strikes continue," he wrote, without providing evidence.

Zelensky said that in some areas along the front, "Russian artillery still sounds, rather than any promise of silence from the Russian leader. Russian drones are being used. In some sectors it is quieter."

He recalled that Russia last month rejected the US-proposed full 30-day ceasefire and said that if Moscow agreed to "truly engage in a format of full and unconditional silence, Ukraine will act accordingly — mirroring Russia's actions".

Russia's defence ministry also said that Ukraine had broken the Easter ceasefire more than a thousand times, Russian news agencies reported. The ministry said that Ukrainian forces had shot at Russian positions 444 times while it had counted more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks, Interfax said.

The defence ministry also said that the Russian military had gained control of Novomikhailivka in eastern Ukraine before the declaration of ceasefire, RIA news agency reported.

Putin attends Orthodox Easter service in Moscow cathedral. – Reuters

Putin later joined other worshippers for an Easter service led by the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, a faithful backer of the Russian leader and an advocate for the war in Ukraine.

Holding a lit thin red candle and donning a dark suit, white shirt and a red tie as in years past, the Russian leader crossed himself several times when Kirill announced "Christ is risen".

The traditionally sung service starts late on a Saturday and lasts into the early hours of Sunday.

For Putin, the Orthodox faith is central to his world view and he always attends services during major church holidays.

For Orthodox Russians, Easter is the most important religious holiday.

At the service, Krill called for "lasting and just peace can be established in the vast expanses of historical Rus," RIA state news agency reported, in what was a reference to a medieval territory that encompassed parts of what is now Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

"How wonderfully it was said, do not do evil to another and do not treat others as you would not want them to treat you," said Kirill, who has strongly backed the war.

"If people adhered to this holiday commandment, then life would be completely different: family and social life and – let me say this – inter-governmental."

"They constantly lie" Kyiv residents dismiss idea of Easter ceasefire offered by Putin. – Reuters

In Brussels, a European Union spokesperson expressed caution over the proclaimed ceasefire, saying: "Russia has a track record as an aggressor, so first we need to see any actual halt of the aggression and clear deeds for a lasting ceasefire."

A British foreign ministry spokesperson said: "Ukraine has committed to a full ceasefire. We urge Russia to do the same."

Kyiv residents expressed little faith in the ceasefire, saying similar past moves by Putin had had little effect.

"This man is not capable of reaching any sort of a deal. He does not know how to do that," said Tetiana Solovei, 65.

"Tonight, in Ukraine and especially in Kyiv, we expect missiles. There will be no ceasefire."

Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation, said Russian forces continued to fire on Ukrainian positions after the truce was meant to have taken effect.

The governor of southern Ukraine's Kherson province said Russian air strikes began shortly before the truce was to start and continued after. He posted a picture of a damaged building.

"Unfortunately, we are not seeing any sort of calm here. The shelling continues and our civilians are under fire," he wrote on Telegram.

I was not possible to independently verify the situation at the front.

Kyiv residents attend Easter mass under shadow of temporary ceasefire. – Reuters

Ukrainian bloggers who cover the war said firing continued along the entire line of contact. But public broadcaster Suspilne quoted servicemen on the eastern front as saying the number of Russian attacks had declined.

Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said on Friday the United States would walk away from efforts to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal unless there were clear signs of progress soon.

Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy for Putin who travelled to Washington this month, posted news of the ceasefire on X, adding: "One step closer to peace" and an emoji of a dove.

Trump has vowed to bring a swift end to the war, while shifting US policy from firmly supporting Kyiv towards accepting Moscow's account of the conflict.

Last month, after Ukraine accepted Trump's proposal for a 30-day truce but Moscow rejected it, the sides agreed only to limited pauses of attacks on energy targets and at sea, which each accuses the other of breaking.

Putin announced his Easter truce a week after a Russian missile attack killed 35 people and wounded nearly 120 in the Ukrainian city of Sumy, including Christians heading to celebrate Palm Sunday.

That attack, the deadliest against civilians of the year so far, spurred Kyiv and its European allies to press Washington to take a tougher line towards Moscow.

Putin has proclaimed unilateral pauses in fighting in the past with little impact, including a 36-hour proposed truce for Orthodox Christmas in January 2023, which Kyiv rejected.