Russian strikes killed at least two people in the Ukrainian city of Odesa on Saturday night, local authorities reported, ahead of a proposal to suspend Orthodox Easter.
Two other people were injured during the attack on the Black Sea port city, when drones hit a residential area, destroying apartments, houses and a kindergarten.
According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia targeted Ukraine with 160 drones overnight, and 133 were shot down or intercepted, just hours before the planned Easter operation began.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said 99 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight across Russia and landed in Crimea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend, ordering the Russian military to stop fighting from 4pm on Saturday until the end of Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised on Saturday that he would abide by the decision to end the violence, describing it as an opportunity to build on the peace process. But he warned that there would be a swift military response to any violations.
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“Easter should be a time of peace and security. Ending hostilities (by Easter) may also be the beginning of a real peace movement,” Zelenskyy wrote in an online post on Saturday.
But he added: “We all understand who we are dealing with. Ukraine will stick to the ceasefire and respond in a strong way.”
Earlier, Ukraine proposed to Russia a temporary moratorium on attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure during the Orthodox Easter holiday.
Previous efforts to end the war have had little effect, with both sides accusing each other of violating the law.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday described Putin’s move as a “humanitarian” gesture, but said Moscow remains focused on a comprehensive solution based on its long-standing demands – a key sticking point that has prevented the two sides from reaching an agreement.
The prisoners were exchanged
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday’s prisoner exchange brought home 175 of its soldiers.
Zelenskyy confirmed Saturday’s exchange, saying 175 members and seven civilians had been returned.
“Most have been imprisoned since 2022. And finally, they are home,” he wrote on X.
At an exchange in northern Ukraine, Svitlana Pohosyan waited for her son to return. Asked about the ceasefire, he said: “I want to believe it. God agrees, may it be so. We will believe and hope that everything will be fine, that such a holy day will end, and that there will be peace – peace in Ukraine and peace in the whole world.”
“My celebration will come when my son returns,” he added. “I will hold her in my arms – and that will be the biggest celebration for me. And for all mothers, all families.”
Sometimes prisoner exchange it was one of the few positive outcomes of months of fruitless US negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. The talks did not bring any progress on key issues preventing an end to Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, which is now in its fifth year.
Separately, seven residents of the Russian city of Kursk returned to Ukraine on Saturday after being abducted by Ukrainian forces, Russian state media reported. They were greeted at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border by Russia’s human rights ombudswoman, Tatyana Moskalkova.
According to Moskalkova, the returnees were the last of those taken to Ukraine from the Kursk region after the Ukrainian military took control of parts of the region in 2024.
Ukrainian forces stormed Kursk in August 2024 in one of their biggest military successes of the war. The attack was the first time Russian territory had been attacked by an aggressor since World War II and was a humiliating attack on the Kremlin.
