‘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 Brief Ceasefire Amid Ongoing Conflict
Despite a truce agreed between Russia and Ukraine during Orthodox Easter, the peace was short-lived. Just 38 minutes after it began on Saturday, air raid sirens echoed across the Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine. The agreement, set to last until Easter Monday, aims to provide a temporary respite after four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion. However, frontline observers report repeated ceasefire breaches, though no long-range missiles or drones have been launched.
Church Services Under Shadow of War
Families in Kharkiv gathered at St John the Theologian Church to celebrate the holiday, bringing baskets of iced cakes, painted eggs, and sausages for a blessing. They lined up to receive holy water from the parish priest, a tradition usually held just before midnight. This year, the service moved to mid-afternoon due to curfew restrictions. “Do you believe them?” Fr Viktor asked when questioned about the ceasefire’s significance. “Maybe there will be a pause,” he said, “but Russia will only strike harder later.”
Military Preparations and Fears
At a training site near the Russian border, members of the Yasni Ochi strike UAV unit, part of the Khartia corps, practiced with new equipment. They loaded kamikaze drones with explosives and rehearsed targeting exercises. Their commander, Heorhiy, instructed his team to remain alert unless under attack. “Russia promises one thing, then acts differently,” he said. “You have to be ready.”
Meanwhile, the unit’s training village, once seized by Russian forces in 2022, now lies in ruins. Soldiers occasionally deliver Easter treats and alcohol-free wine to comrades at the front via drone. Heorhiy believes Ukraine must continue fighting until it secures better terms in talks with Russia. “We need real peace talks,” he emphasized. “The Middle East war has shown how much the world depends on our drone tech and expertise.”
Civilians Scramble for Safety
Returning to Kharkiv, the city’s ring road is draped in netting to catch Russian drones. Yet this measure offers little protection against missiles striking residential areas. In one suburb, five-storey blocks of flats have been reduced to rubble, while others remain boarded up and uninhabitable. Last month, a missile attack killed 11 people, demolishing an entire section of a building. Among the wreckage, a red rug still hangs on a living-room wall, and nearby lie photos of two victims.
Olha, a neighbor who survived the blast, described how she and her elderly mother took shelter in a corridor. She showed a video of the building opposite engulfed in flames and her own flat in pieces. “This truce is only 1.5 days,” she said. “But at least we can rest a bit. Here, you expect to die every second.”
“Easter should be a time of safety, a time of peace,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, warning that his forces would retaliate “strictly in kind” to any Russian moves. Yet, for many, the holiday remains a symbol of hope amid relentless destruction. “We used to have a good civilian life,” Heorhiy recalled. “Now we do what we need to do.”
