Easter truce declared by Russia expires without extension

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued no orders to extend the Easter truce which has expired on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told TASS news agency.

The truce, which lasted for 30 hours from 18:00 Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday to 00:00 on Monday (2100 GMT on Sunday), was announced by Putin during a meeting with Russian Chief of the General Staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that during this period, all units involved in the special military operation strictly adhered to the ceasefire and maintained their previously held positions.

Multiple attacks by Ukrainian forces during Monday night near Sukha Balka and Bohatyr in Donetsk region were repelled by Russian troops, it added.

These attacks resulted in civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that 26 Russian assault actions had taken place from 00:00 (2100 GMT on Saturday) to noon (0900 GMT), accusing Russia of violating its self-declared ceasefire.