The Japan Times - Ukrainian troops celebrate Easter as blasts punctuate Putin's truce

"Christ died and rose again... this is their truce" Volodymyr told AFP journalists after the blast, before continuing: "He gave his life for each of us".

Putin on Saturday announced he had ordered his troops to halt all combat activity until 2100 GMT on Sunday in what raised hopes of the most significant pause in fighting since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

But on Easter Sunday fighting continued between Russian and Ukrainian troops, Ukrainian officials and soldiers said -- though some told AFP the intensity of combat had temporarily decreased in some areas.

Undisturbed by the explosions, a fact of daily life over the last three years, Volodymyr was going around houses used by the Ukrainian military, bringing Easter wishes to servicemen unable to celebrate at home.

A dozen soldiers from Ukraine's 100th Separate Mechanized Brigade had gathered outside their house, forming a circle around the chaplain, sparking up their lighters as they tried to reignite candles being blown out by the wind.

Oleksandr was unable to withhold his tears as he thought of celebrating Easter -- the most important religious holiday for Orthodox Christians -- away from his family.

He held no faith in any promises of a pause in fighting issued by the Russians. We "haven't yet invented a word to describe such people", he said of them.

- 'No reason to trust' -

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces were continuing their shelling and assaults along the front line.

Russia's defence ministry in turn said it had repelled attempted assaults by Ukraine.

A drone unit commander told AFP that Russia's activity had decreased both in the southern Zaporizhzhia and northeastern Kharkiv regions.

A junior lieutenant fighting in the Sumy border region said Russian artillery was not at work on Sunday.

AFP journalists standing on a high vantage point in Kostyantynivka, a dozen kilometres (seven miles) from the front, saw unusually little smoke in the bright blue skies, though explosions were ringing out every few minutes.

"It's a bit quieter where we are," 49-year-old platoon commander Anatoliy told AFP.

"But you can hear it yourself that from time to time there are explosions."

Vasyl, celebrating Easter in another house near the front, was more dismissive.

"You can hear the guns now. There is no truce. There is no reason to trust the enemy," he said.

At the Easter service, chaplain Volodymyr blessed Vasyl and his comrades with holy water.

A grey cat crossed the crowd and meowed, eyeing the shiny plastic wraps holding the "paska" cakes, a sweet Easter bread traditionally blessed by priests.

- War 'won't stop' -

Vasyl struggled with the idea of spending yet another Easter without his loved ones, but felt no resentment towards families who would be united for the holiday.

"I'm happy for them," he told AFP, "I'm glad they don't feel what is happening here."

Civilians in the capital Kyiv, hundreds of kilometres away, shared the soldiers' suspicion towards Putin's announcement of a truce.

"Our enemy is so сunning that we cannot trust them," said Olga Grachova, 38, who works in marketing.

She was speaking outside St Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in central Kyiv, where Orthodox believers had come to worship on a bright sunny morning.

"I heard about this news, but knowing our enemy, I would not trust these words," said Volodymyr Yaroslavsky, a 39-year-old manager wearing an embroidered shirt for the holiday.

Putin's order to halt all combat over the Easter weekend came after months of efforts by US President Donald Trump to get Moscow and Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire.

On Friday, Washington even threatened to withdraw from talks if no progress was made.

Yaroslavsky also said that he did not expect a breakthrough.

"The war probably won't stop, some combat actions may stop for a while. But I don't think the war will end so quickly. This is my personal opinion."

K.Tanaka--JT