Russia and Ukraine traded accusations of hundreds of attacks Sunday, casting doubt on a Kremlin-declared Easter ceasefire that appeared to be unraveling less than a day after it began.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a 32-hour ceasefire for the Orthodox Easter holiday, ordering forces to halt fighting from Saturday afternoon through the end of Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to honor the pause but warned Kyiv would respond quickly to any violations.

The holiday ceasefire, however, appeared to be short-lived.

Ukraine’s military said it had logged 2,299 ceasefire violations by early Sunday morning, including assaults, shelling and small drone activity, though it noted no use of long-range drones, missiles or guided bombs.

RUSSIA LAUNCHES RECORD MISSILE BARRAGE AGAINST UKRAINE ONE DAY BEFORE PEACE TALKS SET TO RESUME IN ABU DHABI

A Ukrainian officer told The Associated Press that Russian troops continued attacking positions despite the declared truce.

Russia’s Defense Ministry fired back, accusing Ukrainian forces of 1,971 violations, including drone strikes in the border regions of Kursk and Belgorod that allegedly injured civilians.

The head of Russia's Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Sunday that the bodies of two civilians have been recovered following an alleged Ukrainian attack on Saturday.

NATO SCRAMBLES JETS AS RUSSIA FIRES NEARLY 400 DRONES TOWARD UKRAINE, SIGNALING NEW SPRING OFFENSIVE

The dueling claims highlight the deep mistrust between the two sides and underscore the difficulty of enforcing even temporary pauses in fighting.

Past ceasefire attempts have collapsed quickly, with both nations routinely blaming each other. A similar truce declared by Putin last Easter also unraveled amid accusations of violations from both sides.

Irena Bulhakova told The Associated Press at a holiday gathering outside Kyiv that she had her doubts about any ceasefires as Russia’s four-year war on Ukraine drags on.

"Every time a ceasefire is announced for a holiday, the shelling continues regardless," she said.

Reflecting on the meaning of the Orthodox Easter holiday, she added: "Good triumphs over darkness, and we hope for that very much."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

U.K. Defense Minister John Healey warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of "serious consequences" Thursday after revealing a weeks-long military operation to deter Russian meddling in the North Sea.

"To President Putin I say we see you, we see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences," he cautioned. 

The defense minister detailed an operation involving a Royal Navy frigate, a Royal Air Force patrol plane and hundreds of personnel deployed to deter a trio of Russian submarines that were detected near underwater cables in Britain’s economic exclusionary zone.

RUSSIA, CHINA VETO UN RESOLUTION AIMED AT REOPENING STRAIT OF HORMUZ, HOURS BEFORE TRUMP DEADLINE

One of the submarines, Healey announced, was a nuclear-powered Akula-class submarine, while the other two were spy submarines from Russia’s Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research, also known as GUGI. Subs from this unit were directed specifically by Putin "to conduct hybrid warfare activities against the UK" and its allies, Healey said.

At least one of those allies, Norway, was involved in the deterrent operation, Healey revealed. Norway’s Defense Minister Tore O Sandvik confirmed the cooperation in a Thursday statement. 

"Norway has participated in a coordinated military operation with our allies to send a clear message: covert activities in our waters will not be tolerated," Sandvik wrote.

The submarines left U.K. waters after a protracted period of monitoring from the U.K. and Norway, and there is no evidence of damage to any underwater infrastructure, Healey said. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.K.’s Defense Department for more information. 

The Russian incursion marked the second time in less than six months that the U.K. detected Russian seacraft near its territorial waters. Healey announced a similar military operation in November after Russia deployed the spy ship Yantar to the North Sea in 2025.

TRUMP, STARMER AGREE STRAIT OF HORMUZ MUST REOPEN AS MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT ESCALATES

Healey also cited this year’s incident as an example of why the U.K. hasn’t sent troops to the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf key to global energy markets that Iran has choked off in recent weeks.

"I understand people questioning why all UK military assets and personnel have not been deployed to deal with it. But that is not in Britain’s national interest," he said, later calling Russia "the primary threat to the UK and to NATO." 

President Donald Trump has criticized NATO allies and the organization itself for not acceding to requests to help open the Strait of Hormuz. 

"NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN," he wrote in a Thursday morning Truth Social post.

The U.K., while holding a planning meeting on how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after the Iran War is over, initially refused to let the U.S. use a British air base to launch military strikes against Iran. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer eventually allowed the U.S. to launch "defensive strikes" from Royal Air Force bases after Trump slammed him as "not Winston Churchill."

Russia launched nearly 400 drones and dozens of missiles across Ukraine overnight Monday, triggering NATO to scramble fighter jets in neighboring countries, according to reports.

The massive aerial assault killed at least four people and injured more than two dozen, with strikes hitting multiple regions including Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, The Associated Press reported, citing Ukrainian officials.

Poland and Romania both scrambled fighter jets as Russian strikes approached NATO airspace, East2West reported, with Warsaw placing air defenses on the "highest state of readiness," Poland’s operational command said.

"Due to the activity of long-range Russian air forces conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory, Polish and allied air forces have begun operating in our airspace," Poland’s operational command said, according to East2West.

RUSSIA LAUNCHES RECORD MISSILE BARRAGE AGAINST UKRAINE ONE DAY BEFORE PEACE TALKS SET TO RESUME IN ABU DHABI

Hours earlier, two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled in fellow NATO state Romania as Russian drones attacked Ukraine near the River Danube, the outlet reported. The Danube forms part of the border between Ukraine and Romania.

Ukrainian military leaders said Russian forces have intensified attacks along the roughly 750-mile front line, with hundreds of assaults reported in recent days.

The Institute for the Study of War said the escalation suggests Moscow’s long-anticipated spring-summer offensive is now underway, according to The Associated Press.

RUSSIA KILLS 12 UKRAINIAN MINERS IN DEADLY BUS ATTACK HOURS AFTER PEACE TALKS POSTPONED

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched nearly 400 drones. Ukrainian officials later said most were intercepted or disrupted, although some were able to hit their targets, according to East2West.

Russia also launched 23 cruise missiles and seven ballistic missiles at Ukraine during the night, hitting at least 10 locations across the country, according to the Ukrainian air force.

Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless barrages since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago. U.S.-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have brought no respite, with Russia rejecting Ukraine’s ceasefire offer.

The latest strikes came after Ukraine hit Russia’s largest Baltic port, Primorsk, in a pinpoint attack a day earlier, leaving the key export hub in flames, East2West reported.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambassador to London, Andrey Kelin, threatened "dire" consequences over what he said was Ukraine’s use of Storm Shadow missiles, which this month hit and damaged a microelectronics plant in Russia’s Bryansk region.

"The British, without whose participation the use of Storm Shadow missiles is simply impossible, decided to remind everyone of both Ukraine and themselves," he said. "However, any action has consequences. And for everyone involved in the tragedy in Bryansk, the consequences will be dire."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ukraine peace talks are on a "situational pause" as the Middle East conflict intensifies, the Kremlin said Thursday, even as Kyiv signaled negotiations could resume as soon as this weekend.

Following reports in Russian media that the Kremlin had paused talks on Ukraine and that the Middle East conflict could push Kyiv toward compromise, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the pause.

"This is a situational pause, for obvious reasons," Peskov told reporters when asked about the report, according to Reuters.

Peskov added that as soon as "our American partners" could refocus on the Ukraine conflict, Moscow hopes the pause will end and new talks can begin, the outlet reported.

UKRAINE TO MEET TRUMP ENVOYS AHEAD OF HIGH-STAKES GENEVA TALKS WITH RUSSIA AS WAR ENTERS FIFTH YEAR

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video posted on X that Kyiv has received signals from the U.S. that it is ready to resume talks aimed at ending the war.

"There has been a pause in the talks, and it is time to resume them," he said. "We are doing everything to ensure that the negotiations are genuinely substantive."

Zelenskyy added that a Ukrainian negotiating team is already on its way to the U.S. and is expected to hold meetings Saturday.

RUSSIA, UKRAINE TO DISCUSS TERRITORY AS TRUMP SAYS BOTH SIDES 'WANT TO MAKE A DEAL'

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said the "hatred" between Russia and Ukraine was getting in the way of reaching a peace deal.

Speaking at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Florida, Trump said the "hatred between Putin and his counterpart is so great."

"It's so great that, you know, Ukraine, Russia, you'd think there would be a little bit of camaraderie, [but] there’s not. And the hatred is so great. It's very hard for them to get there. It's very, very hard to get there. So we'll see what happens," Trump said. "But we've been close a lot of times and one or the other would back out."

UKRAINE'S ZELENSKYY: RUSSIA TRYING 'TO PLAY' GAME WITH TRUMP, STALL PEACE TALKS

Trump’s comments came after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in January that Russia was losing between 20,000 and 25,000 troops each month in its war against Ukraine.

The pause in talks comes as Ukraine is increasingly being drawn into the wider Middle East conflict.

With the conflict in Iran now in its third week, Ukraine is providing technology and battlefield-tested tactics to counter Iranian drone attacks.

U.S. and Gulf partners have requested Ukrainian assistance, with Kyiv signaling it is prepared to share both systems and personnel to help defend against Iranian aerial threats.

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman-Diamond and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report, along with Reuters.

Russia is covertly shipping oil to Cuba using deceptive shipping tactics to bypass U.S. sanctions, according to maritime intelligence reports, and as the island grapples with fuel shortages and power outages.

One alleged delivery came amid one of Cuba’s worst energy crises and ahead of a grid collapse on March 16 which left roughly 10 million people without electricity, according to Cuban authorities and the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.

"The Hong Kong-flagged tanker, which is not sanctioned, has AIS patterns that suggest the tanker spoofed its location and likely sailed to Cuba to discharge its cargo in early March," Windward AI said.

The Financial Times also reported March 18 that another Russian-flagged tanker, Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying crude oil, was expected to reach Cuba by April 4.

"We are ready to provide all possible assistance," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had told reporters at a briefing on Cuba on March 17, The Moscow Times reported.

PROTESTERS TORCH COMMUNIST PARTY HQ IN CUBA AS VIDEO APPEARS TO CAPTURE GUNFIRE

The alleged shipments came as senior officials at the State Department told Fox News that, under existing law, there are ways for Cuban companies and citizens to purchase oil, but said the Cuban regime is making that impossible. 

The U.S. oil embargo prevents the Cuban regime from purchasing oil only, the official confirmed.

Windward AI first identified the tanker, Sea Horse, as the key vessel in the suspected clandestine oil delivery in its report on March 18.

The firm said the vessel was thought to have transported around 190,000 to 200,000 barrels to Cuba while engaging in behavior consistent with sanctions evasion. Although the vessel is not under sanctions, Windward analysts flagged several suspicious activities.

These included switching off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) during a ship-to-ship transfer near Cyprus — where it likely loaded its cargo — and sailing without Western insurance, both common indicators of sanctions circumvention.

The tanker also repeatedly altered its stated destination, initially signaling Havana before changing to "Gibraltar for orders," a tactic often used to obscure final delivery points.

CUBAN ACTIVIST TO TRUMP: ‘MAKE CUBA GREAT AGAIN’ BY ENDING COMMUNIST RULE

After crossing the Atlantic, it appeared to drift while broadcasting that it was "not under command," with analysts suggesting its AIS signals may have been manipulated to conceal its true location and activities.

These movements strongly indicate that the vessel may have completed an unreported delivery to Cuba before resuming normal transmissions.

Since Jan. 29, U.S. measures — effectively creating an oil blockade — have disrupted fuel shipments to the island.

The policy shift followed major changes in Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, further tightening supply to Cuba and discouraging other tankers from approaching its ports.

President Donald Trump had warned that countries supplying oil to Cuba could face tariffs, while Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the measures as an "economic war" and pledged continued resistance in a post shared on X.

"The only way for Cuba to fix its energy crisis is to address the root cause of its economic failures: total government control of economic life," a U.S. official told Fox News on March 17.

RUSSIA TO SUSPEND FLIGHTS TO CUBA AS TRUMP SANCTIONS CUT FUEL SUPPLY

"The regime must make significant changes, allowing for privatization and for the Cuban people to provide for themselves," they said.

Otherwise, another senior State Department official said Cuba's blackouts have "sadly become common for many years in Cuba — a symptom of the failing regime’s incompetence and inability to provide even the most basic goods and services for its people."

"This is the tragic result of over 60 years of Communist rule. An island that was once the crown jewel of the Caribbean has plunged into extreme poverty and darkness.

"As President Trump has said, what is left of the regime should make a deal and finally let the Cuban people be free and prosperous, with the help of the United States," the official said.

"Cuba right now is in very bad shape. They’re talking to Marco," Trump told reporters March 17 before adding that "we’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon."

In March 2026, as the smoke cleared over Tehran after the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran’s leadership, Russia’s response was strikingly restrained. Despite a 20-year strategic partnership treaty signed with Tehran just last year, Moscow limited its reaction to condemnation and calls for diplomacy. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russia had received no request from Iran for military assistance.

 "There were no requests from Iran in this case," Peskov told reporters March 5.

For analysts who study the relationship between Moscow and Tehran, the moment felt familiar. 

HEGSETH WARNS RUSSIA AS SIGNS POINT TO MOSCOW SHARING INTEL WITH IRAN

"The relationship has always been transactional," said Ksenia Svetlova, executive director of the Regional Organization for Peace, Economy and Security (ROPES) and an associate fellow at Chatham House. "Russia does what serves its own interests."

While Iran and Russia have moved closer in recent years — particularly after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — experts say the partnership has never resembled a true alliance. Instead, they say, it reflects a long history of cooperation shaped by convenience, rivalry and shifting geopolitical needs.

The uneasy relationship between the two powers stretches back nearly two centuries. In 1828, the Treaty of Turkmenchay forced Persia to cede large parts of the Caucasus to the Russian Empire after a military defeat. The treaty remains one of the most painful symbols of foreign domination in Iranian political memory.

In the 20th century, Russia’s relationship with Iran shifted dramatically. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Moscow maintained relatively stable ties with Iran under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. 

"It actually had good relations with the Shah who visited Moscow after World War II," Svetlova said.

"But Communist Russia was very suspicious of Islamist Iran after the 1979 revolution," said Svetlova. 

It was a mutual distrust. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini denounced both Cold War superpowers, calling the United States the "Great Satan" and the Soviet Union the "Lesser Satan." 

Even during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, the Soviet Union maintained ties with Tehran while simultaneously supplying weapons to Iraq. 

"The Soviet Union was very suspicious of Islamist Iran," Svetlova said. "Even after the revolution, the relationship could not really be considered an alliance."

AS UKRAINE WAR DRAGS ON, TRUMP HITS PUTIN BY SQUEEZING RUSSIA’S PROXIES

In recent years, however, geopolitical pressures pushed the two countries closer together. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 created new military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. 

Though Russia and Iran have not shared a land border since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, they remain "neighbors" via the Caspian Sea. This "blue border" became a vital artery in 2022 when Iran supplied the Shahed-series drones used in Ukraine that Russia has used extensively in attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Vice Adm. Robert S. Harward, a retired Navy SEAL and former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, said the partnership has had direct consequences on the battlefield. 

"Sadly, the world is just now getting a taste of Iranian drones. But there's one group that already knows them well, the Christians in Ukraine," Harward said. 

"Close to 600 Ukrainian churches have been destroyed by Russian attacks, including from the Iranian Shahed drones."

Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition and a former deputy assistant secretary of state, argued that Russia’s continued use of Iranian drones against Ukrainian targets underscores the depth of the military relationship while its calls for restraint in the current conflict highlight a fundamental contradiction. 

"If Russia were serious about peace, we would see a ceasefire with Ukraine months ago," she said. "Yet, Putin continues to attack Ukrainian cities, churches and civilians with Iranian drones day after day."

And yet Russia’s dependence on Iranian drones during the early stages of the Ukraine war has also diminished as Moscow built its own production capacity. A report cited by The Washington Post found that Russia has "transitioned from importing Iranian Shahed drones to mass-manufacturing them" under the name Geran-2.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that Russia "should not be involved" in the escalating conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran amid reports Russia has provided information that could help Iran identify U.S. military assets in the Middle East. Moscow has not publicly confirmed the claims. 

"I believe Russia is providing Iran intelligence to more effectively target Americans, our allies and partners in the CENTCOM region," said Lt. Gen. Richard Y. Newton III, a retired Air Force officer who served as assistant vice chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force. "It's absolutely clear Russia is not our friend.

IRAN LAUNCHES SATELLITES ON RUSSIAN ROCKETS AS MOSCOW-TEHRAN TIES DEEPEN

"They are doing for the Iranians without spending money, spending troops or spending equipment," Svetlova added. "They share knowledge. They supplied the Iranians with a target list, basically, through their satellites — American targets, but also air targets in the Gulf and Iraq."

Harward argued that confronting this growing cooperation requires a broader strategy. 

"If we want to break the threat of the increasingly dangerous Russian-Iranian alliance, we need to fully decimate Iran's capabilities to threaten our allies and the United States, and we need to continue to support Ukraine and get Europeans to do their part," he said.

Filipetti remains skeptical of Moscow’s role as a mediator. 

"The idea that Russia would call on the U.S. and Israel to cease military operations against the regime in Iran and suggest that we should negotiate is absurd," Filipetti said.

Although Russia is falling short of helping Iran in a straightforward military way, experts say the cooperation in the world of intelligence has been profound. 

Ultimately, Newton argued that Russia’s actions should be viewed through the lens of President Vladimir Putin’s broader geopolitical goals. 

"Putin only does what serves Putin, and right now escalating the war in the Middle East and driving up oil prices only serves his interests so he can continue to fund his war machine against Ukraine," he said.

Russia has turned to its so-called "shadow fleet" to carry out a roughly $29.3 million "semi-dark" ship-to-ship oil transfer in the Gulf of Oman, deliberately sidestepping Western sanctions, according to reports.

Maritime intelligence firm Windward AI reported on March 8 that the Russian-flagged tanker M/V TRUST, a vessel already blacklisted by the U.S., European Union and United Kingdom, carried out a "high-probability" covert crude transfer in Omani territorial waters.

Based on an estimated price of about $90 per barrel on March 10, the cargo involved in the transfer was valued at roughly $29.3 million.

"The timing of the operation coincided with heightened military escalation in the Gulf following Operation Epic Fury, suggesting the vessel exploited regional instability to conduct the transfer under reduced scrutiny," Windward said.

HORMUZ ERUPTS: ATTACKS, GPS JAMMING, HOUTHI THREATS ROCK STRAIT AMID US-ISRAELI STRIKES

The tanker had previously loaded approximately 325,000 barrels of Russian crude oil at the Russian port of Ust-Luga, Windward said.

Windward described the operation as a "semi-dark" activity, meaning one of the vessels transmitted its automatic identification system (AIS) signal while the other did not.

According to the firm, the M/V TRUST had anchored and switched off its AIS transponder while holding what it called a "prolonged stationary meeting" with another tanker, likely producing an anonymous vessel to transfer cargo process.

TRUMP SAYS IT’S AN ‘HONOR’ TO KEEP STRAIT OF HORMUZ OPEN FOR CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES

A fully "dark" meeting, Windward said, typically involves two vessels not transmitting, but, in this case, only one ship appeared to be broadcasting, creating partial visibility that still complicates tracking efforts.

Such tactics are part of a broader strategy by Moscow to continue exporting crude despite sweeping Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The semi-dark oil transfer comes amid heightened volatility in global energy markets tied to the escalating conflict in the Middle East and limited traffic in the Strait of Hormuz given the joint U.S.-Israeli military action against Iran.

US SIGNALS READINESS TO ESCORT TANKERS THROUGH HORMUZ AS TRAFFIC THINS BUT NO MISSION LAUNCHED

Oil topped $100 a barrel March 9 as traders priced in the risk that the conflict was disrupting flows through the Strait, which carries about a fifth of global supply, CNBC reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 9 that Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter and holder of the largest natural gas reserves, stands ready to resume long-term energy cooperation with European customers if they choose to return, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that Russia "should not be involved" in the escalating conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran.

His comments followed reports suggesting Moscow may be providing intelligence support to Tehran, though the Kremlin has not publicly confirmed the claims.

On Russia's ship-to-ship semi-dark cargo transfer amid the ongoing conflict, Windward highlighted "operational blind spots that enable illicit maritime activity to proceed largely uninterrupted."