Russia drones breach truce, killing Odesa civilians
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- Russia continued drone attacks on Ukrainian positions after the Kremlin‑declared 32‑hour Orthodox Easter ceasefire took effect Saturday, according to a Ukrainian military officer.
- Serhii Kolesnychenko said artillery fire paused in his sector at the junction of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia, but Russian drones kept striking Ukrainian positions, prompting Ukrainian forces to respond with “silence to silence and fire to fire.”
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged Ukraine would respect the ceasefire and warned of a swift military response to any violations, while calling Easter a time for peace.
- Odesa suffered at least two civilian deaths and two injuries from Russian drone strikes just before the ceasefire, damaging residential buildings, a kindergarten, and a car.
- Ukrainian air force reported Russia launched 160 drones overnight, of which 133 were shot down or intercepted, while the Russian Defence Ministry said 99 Ukrainian drones were downed across Russia and occupied Crimea.
- Ukraine confirmed the return of 175 service members and seven civilians in a prisoner exchange, many of whom had been held captive since 2022.
- Dmitry Peskov described the ceasefire as a humanitarian gesture but said Moscow remains focused on a comprehensive settlement based on its longstanding demands.
Why it matters: Russia's continued drone strikes undermine the declared ceasefire, exposing Ukrainian civilians to renewed danger and forcing Kyiv to resume combat, while the prisoner exchange offers limited relief but does not alter the broader stalemate, highlighting the fragility of diplomatic gestures amid ongoing hostilities.
