Russia resumes attacks on Ukraine following brief Easter truce, Ukraine says

UKRAINIAN REGIONAL OFFICIALS on Monday reported Russia has resumed air attacks, after Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of breaking a brief Easter truce.

The surprise 30-hour ceasefire was declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said it was motivated by “humanitarian reasons”.

Just hours after the truce ended at midnight local time Sunday, Ukrainian officials reported renewed strikes.

Sergiy Lysak, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk, said Russia “launched drones” at the eastern region.

One home was damaged and a fire broke out at a food establishment, but no injuries have been reported, he said on Telegram.

In the southern Mykolaiv region, the governor reported the “enemy attacked the city with missiles” in a pre-dawn raid.

“There were no casualties or damage,” Vitaliy Kim said in a Telegram post.

While Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday the ceasefire had seen a halt to air attacks, he accused Moscow of carrying out hundreds of front line raids.

Russia’s defence ministry in turn said it had “repelled” Ukrainian assaults and accused Kyiv on Sunday of launching hundreds of drones and shells, causing civilian casualties.

Journalists from news agency AFP in eastern Ukraine on Sunday heard fewer explosions than usual and saw no smoke on the horizon.

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Kyiv’s 30-day offer

Putin’s ceasefire declaration came after US President Donald Trump said Friday he would end Washington’s efforts to halt the war unless the two sides moved towards an accord.

“Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week,” he said Sunday on his Truth Social platform.

Trump had earlier tabled a ceasefire proposal, which was accepted by Ukraine but rebuffed by Russia.

Zelensky on Sunday called for a deal to halt “any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure” for at least 30 days.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin had given no order to extend the truce.

In Kyiv on Sunday, residents doubted peace was on the horizon more than three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Sergiy Klochko, a 30-year-old railway worker, said a ceasefire is “what our country wants”.

“So that this terrible war ends, so that our people, our soldiers, and children stop dying.”

In Moscow there were similar hopes for an end to the fighting.

“I think that one day this madness will end, but not yet,” said 73-year-old Irina Volkova.

“People are dying, young men are dying. It’s very hard.”