Ukraine and Russia each accused the other Sunday of breaking an Easter truce, with dozens of reported attacks across Ukraine amid dwindling hopes that the two nations can ever agree to a lasting ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin first called for the ceasefire, saying it should begin at 6 p.m. Saturday and last through Easter, ending on Monday morning. He said he ordered the Russian military “to stop all fighting.”

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces did exactly the opposite. Citing Ukrainian commanders on the front lines of the fighting, Mr. Zelenskyy said that Saturday evening alone “there were 387 instances of shelling and 19 assaults by Russian forces,” and that “drones were used by Russians 290 times.”

On Easter morning, Mr. Zelenskyy said the assaults continued.

“Between midnight and noon today, Russian forces have already carried out 26 assaults,” he wrote on X, accusing the Russians of using the purported ceasefire as a public relations tool.

“In practice, either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favorable PR coverage,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

Moscow had a very different take. Russia’s state-run Tass News Agency said that Ukrainian forces had launched multiple artillery attacks in the Donetsk region, effectively breaking the truce.

The two sides did conduct a major prisoner exchange Saturday, with each returning 246 prisoners.

But the apparent inability to observe even a brief ceasefire will only fuel pessimism back in the U.S., where President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top administration officials have expressed serious doubt about whether an end to the war is possible. On Friday, Mr. Trump indicated the U.S. could “take a pass” on continuing negotiations if progress isn’t made soon.

“Now, if for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say ’you’re foolish,’” the president said. “You are fools, you horrible people. And we’re going to just take a pass. But hopefully, we won’t have to do that.”

• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.