Moscow, April 11 (Reuters) – Governors of two Russian border regions said on Saturday that Ukrainian drones had attacked targets in the Kursk and Belgorod regions, injuring five people.
The attacks were reported after a 32-hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire went into effect at 4 p.m. Moscow time (1300 GMT).Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the ceasefire on Thursday and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he would abide by it.
Reuters could not independently verify reports of military activity.
Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, made no reference to alleged ceasefire violations. He repeated that Ukraine would stick to the truce and wished it could be in effect longer.
“It would be right for the ceasefire to continue beyond this,” Zelenskiy said.
“We have made this proposal to Russia and if Russia once again chooses war instead of peace, it will show the world, and particularly the United States, who truly wants what.”
Alexander Khinshtein, governor of the Kursk region, wrote on the state-backed messenger service MAX that a Ukrainian drone had struck a petrol station in the town of Lgov, injuring three people, including a child.
Khinshtein said the attack took place after the start of the truce.
In the adjacent Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said two people were injured in Ukrainian drone attacks.
Gladkov, writing on Telegram, said a man and woman were injured in attacks in Shebekino and Grayvoron, two small towns just inside the border. He also said Ukrainian forces had shelled Shebekino, damaging homes and other buildings.
Gladkov gave no specific time for when the incidents occurred, but his post appeared after the ceasefire went into effect.
According to the calendar of the Orthodox faith, which is dominant in both Russia and Ukraine, Easter is celebrated this year on Sunday, April 12.
During a similar Easter ceasefire agreed last year, each side accused the other of infringements.The current ceasefire was put in place as U.S.-led negotiations to reach a settlement in the more than four-year war have been halted amid the war in the Middle East.
Zelenskiy has proposed a halt to fighting on a number of occasions, but has been turned down by Moscow, which says it is seeking an overall settlement.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Jane Merriman, Paul Simao, and Alistair Bell)
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