On Easter Sunday evening, Vladimir Putin made an entrance at a service in Moscow’s cathedral, a gathering that also saw the presence of Elon Musk’s father. Despite a ceasefire declared by the Kremlin, the Russian president made this appearance.

Putin attended the midnight ceremony at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral, situated close to the Kremlin. Observers noted that he seemed tired and appeared to be wearing noticeable makeup.

This annual event coincided with an official ceasefire for Orthodox Easter, which Putin himself had announced. However, reports emerged of violations by Russian forces shortly after its commencement.

The ceasefire, intended to last 32 hours, was breached when Russian forces launched drone attacks on Ukrainian positions on Saturday.

According to Ukraine’s military command, there were approximately 470 breaches of the truce by Russian troops.

During the Easter service, Putin addressed the congregation, stating, “The great holiday of Easter fills the hearts of millions with sincere joy, faith in the all-conquering power of life, the triumph of love, goodness, and justice, uniting us through longstanding traditions and unwavering spiritual, moral values, and ideals.”

As his troops broke his declared ceasefire, he praised ‘our heroes – the participants and veterans of the special military operation’. 

The service was also attended by Elon Musk’s father Errol, 79, who is a regular visitor to Russia. 

President Putin attended the Easter Sunday midnight service at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral near the Kremlin last night, hours after breaking the Russia-declared ceasefire with Ukraine

Elon Musk’s father, Errol, 79, watched on. The South African businessman is a regular visitor to Russia 

Putin appeared tired and weary and wore heavy makeup in the annual outing. Pictured: Putin (left) next to Moscow’s mayor Sergey Sobyanin

Errol Musk has previously praised Putin and even blamed his son for falling out with President Donald Trump. 

He is in Russia on a two week trip focusing on ‘research projects with Russian scientists’, according to Moscow Times. 

President Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4pm on Saturday until the end of Sunday. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to abide by the ceasefire, describing it as an opportunity to build on peace initiatives. But he warned there would be a swift military response to any violations. 

Russia quickly violated their own ceasefire after attacking Ukrainian positions with drones on Saturday evening, as Serhii Kolesnychenko, a communications officer for Ukraine’s 148th Separate Artillery Brigade, said: ‘The ceasefire is not being observed by the Russian side’. 

Mr Kolesnychenko said that while artillery fire had paused in the sector where his brigade was working, at the junction of the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, Russian forces continued to use drones to strike Ukrainian positions. 

Ukrainian forces were responding with ‘silence to silence and fire to fire’, Mr Kolesnychenko said. 

Hours before the ceasefire was due to begin, Russia launched drone strikes across Ukraine. Pictured: A view of the aftermath following a Russian airstrike using KAB-250 guided bombs in the city centre of Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on April 11, 2026

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia targeted Ukraine with 160 drones overnight, of which 133 were shot down or intercepted, hours before a proposed Easter ceasefire was due to come into force

Ukraine’s military command said on Facebook: ‘After 4:00 pm, 469 ceasefire violations were recorded, namely: 22 enemy assault actions, 153 shelling attacks, 19 strikes by attack drones… and 275 strikes by FPV drones.

‘Today in total, the enemy carried out 57 air strikes and dropped 182 guided aerial bombs. In addition, it deployed 3,928 kamikaze drones and conducted 2,454 shelling attacks on populated areas and positions of our troops’.  

The latest flare-up comes despite Moscow and Kyiv both signalling that the end of the war in Ukraine may be in sight.

Russia’s hardline foreign minister issued a surprise statement that ‘the prospect of a political and diplomatic settlement is on the horizon.’

At the same time, Ukraine’s top negotiator Lt-Gen Kyrylo Budanov, 40, made clear Russia is shifting its stance. ‘They all understand the war needs to end. That’s why they are negotiating,’ he told Bloomberg. ‘I don’t think it will be long.’