'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 Ukraine11 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleSarah RainsfordEastern Europe correspondent, Kharkiv BBCPeople line up to be doused in holy water by a priest in KharkivAn Orthodox Easter truce agreed by Russia and Ukraine came into force on Saturday afternoon but 38 minutes later we heard air raid sirens in Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine.Since then, officials and military have recorded multiple ceasefire violations along the frontline, although no long-range missile or drone strikes.The pause in fighting is supposed to last until Easter Monday to give people a much-needed rest, more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion."Easter should be a time of safety, a time of peace," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, warning that Ukrainian forces would respond "strictly in kind" to any actions by Moscow.Expectations and trust are very low here.Shortly before the 16:00 (14:00 BST) start time for the truce, families brought baskets full of iced Easter cakes, painted eggs and sausage to St John the Theologian Church for a blessing.They formed a line around the building to be doused with holy water by the parish priest.The service is traditionally held just before midnight, with a procession around the church, but it was mid-afternoon this year because of the curfew."Do you believe them?" Fr Viktor wanted to know, when I asked about the significance of a Russian ceasefire.St John's church itself was damaged at the start of the full-scale war and its windows on one side are still boarded up."Maybe there will be a pause," one parishioner called Larisa suggested. "But then Russia will only launch even more intense attacks. We've seen that before."Baskets full of iced Easter cakes, painted eggs and sausageAt a military training ground about 12 miles from the Russian border, members of Ya...