‘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

Despite a Russian-Ukrainian agreement to halt hostilities during Orthodox Easter, the fragile calm was shattered almost instantly. As the truce took effect on Saturday afternoon, air raid alarms blared in the Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine, just 38 minutes later. The ceasefire, meant to last until Easter Monday, has already faced breaches, though no long-range missiles or drones have been launched. This pause comes four years after Russia began its full-scale invasion, offering a rare respite for weary civilians and troops alike.

At a church in Kharkiv, families gathered to celebrate the holiday, bringing baskets of iced Easter cakes, painted eggs, and sausage for blessings. They lined up to receive holy water from Fr Viktor, the parish priest, who expressed doubt about the truce’s effectiveness. “Do you believe them?” he asked, reflecting the skepticism of many in the community. The service, typically held just before midnight, was moved to mid-afternoon due to ongoing curfews. St John the Theologian Church, itself damaged early in the war, still bears the scars of boarded-up windows.

Meanwhile, at a training site near the Russian border, soldiers from the Yasni Ochi strike UAV unit of the Khartia Corps prepared new drones for frontline use. Their commander, Heorhiy, instructed his team to remain alert during the 32-hour truce, ready to retaliate if attacked. “Russia says one thing, then does the other,” he said. “You have to be ready.” Troops on rotation also dropped Easter treats, including alcohol-free wine, to comrades at the front using drones—a small gesture amid the relentless conflict.

“Easter should be a time of safety, a time of peace,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, vowing that his forces would respond “strictly in kind” to any Russian aggression during the truce.

Heorhiy, whose unit once belonged to an underground electronic music scene in Dnipro, emphasized the urgency of securing better terms in negotiations. “We need real peace talks,” he said. The US-led peace initiative has stalled, with Trump’s envoys redirected to mediate in the Iran conflict. Ukraine continues to demand robust security guarantees from allies, particularly assurances of support in case of renewed Russian attacks.

As we returned to Kharkiv, the city’s ring road was draped in netting to intercept Russian drones. Yet, the threat of missiles remains constant, with little time for defenses to react. In one suburb, entire five-storey apartment blocks were reduced to rubble by strikes last month, killing 11 people. Survivors like Olha recount the chaos of that night, when flames consumed a neighboring building and they huddled with her elderly mother in a corridor. “This truce is only 1.5 days,” she said, “but at least we can rest a bit. Here, you expect to die every second.”

Among the ruins, a red rug still hangs in a living room, alongside photographs of the two victims. Olha’s words underscore the desperation for a break in the fighting, even as the war continues to claim lives and reshape the landscape. The Easter truce, though symbolic, offers fleeting hope in a conflict that shows no signs of slowing.