Russia has resumed its attacks on Ukraine, killing at least three people in the southern Kherson region, after a 30-hour Easter ceasefire that Kyiv said Moscow’s armed forces repeatedly violated.
In a statement on Monday, Russia’s military said it was continuing “the special military operation” – Vladimir Putin’s phrase for his 2022 full-scale invasion. Over the weekend Russian troops “strictly observed” the pause in fighting, it claimed.
The ceasefire expired at midnight on Monday. The announcement means the Kremlin has rejected an offer – made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and endorsed on Sunday by the US state department – to extend the truce by 30 days.
Writing on social media, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready for a “complete, full and honest ceasefire”. He suggested both sides refrain from carrying out strikes with missiles and drones against civilian infrastructure.
“The nature of Ukraine’s actions will remain symmetrical: ceasefire will be met with ceasefire, and Russian strikes will be met with our own in defense. Actions always speak louder than words,” he posted on X.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy later said: “Ukraine maintains its proposal not to strike at least civilian infrastructure. And we expect a clear answer from Moscow. We are ready for any conversation on how to ensure this.”
Putin said Moscow would consider the Ukrainian ceasefire proposal, but accused Kyiv of using civilian sites for military purposes.
“We will analyse everything and take the corresponding decisions,” he told state reporters in Moscow.
Moscow appears to be deliberately stalling the peace talks, betting that continued battlefield gains will bolster its position and enable it to demand greater concessions at the negotiating table.
Zelenskyy said Russia had launched numerous attacks using artillery and drones, as well as infantry. The most active part of the Easter frontline was near the city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, he said.
Enemy forces continued combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region, he added, where Ukrainian units hold a small amount of territory. Russia has claimed Ukraine broke the ceasefire.
Ukrainian soldiers said their sectors had come under sustained Russian fire. They added that Russian troops used the pause to repair damaged logistical crossings and to prepare for new offensive operations.
“For us, it’s just another day of war, with shelling from various types of weapons and an even one attempt to assault our positions,” Denys Bobkov, from the 37th separate marine brigade said on Sunday.
Putin addressed Russia’s missile strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, where 35 people, including two children, were killed, for the first time on Monday. He acknowledged that Moscow had hit civilian infrastructure but claimed the site was being used for military purposes. The twin strikes on Sumy were the deadliest incident this year in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The Kremlin’s apparent position is that the White House will not take any punitive measures against it. Since returning to office in January, Donald Trump has demanded concessions from Kyiv while putting no similar pressure on Moscow.
Trump has described Zelenskyy as a dictator and has blamed him for starting the war alongside Joe Biden. Last week Trump played down a devastating Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy – in which 35 people were killed – calling it “a mistake”.
Leaks suggest the Trump administration is now pushing for a “peace deal” that heavily favours Russia. The deal would include a pause to the conflict along the existing 1,000km frontline, recognition that Crimea belongs to Moscow, and a veto on Ukraine’s Nato membership.
There are also unconfirmed reports that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station – which Russia seized in 2022 – would be part of a “neutral” zone. Talks on a possible peace settlement featuring US envoys are due to take place later this week in London.
Speaking on Monday, Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, welcomed the US’s sympathetic stance. Russia has also called for Zelenskyy’s removal and Ukraine’s “demilitarisation”.
“We have heard from Washington at various levels that Ukraine’s membership in Nato is excluded. Of course, this is something that causes our satisfaction and coincides with our position,” Peskov said.
After a brief period of relative calm over the weekend, Russia resumed its aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities and towns. Ukraine’s air force said 96 drones and three missiles were launched overnight at central and eastern regions.
There were air raid alerts across much of the country. In Kherson, three people were killed and three injured in Russian attacks, the region’s governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported in a post on Telegram. A residential area and a store were hit, he said.
Among those killed in the Kherson region was a woman who was struck by a drone while walking down the street, according to Gyunduz Mamedov, a former deputy prosecutor general of Ukraine. Four people were wounded in strikes in Donetsk.
