[UPDATES] Russia confirmed Monday it had resumed strikes on Ukraine after a 30-hour surprise Easter truce, as Ukraine said drones and missiles pounded the Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions.
“With the end of the ceasefire, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continued to conduct the special military operation,” the Russian military said in a statement, using its term for the military offensive.
Russia launched a fresh wave of attacks on Ukraine using kamikaze drones and missiles early in the morning on Monday, April 21, just as the Easter truce expired.
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 (2100 GMT) Sunday, Ukrainian officials reported renewed strikes in multiple regions, including Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk.
Ukrainian forces also warned of Moscow planning to drop glide bombs from Russian aircraft, and the threat of more missile strikes in Sumy and Kharkiv.
Mykolaiv was targeted by missiles, but Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich reported no casualties or damage. Explosions were also reported in Cherkasy, Kherson, and Odesa regions.
Putin declared a ceasefire from 6 p.m. on April 19 to midnight at the end of Easter Day.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously announced a ceasefire, set to begin at 6 p.m. Moscow time on April 19 and last until midnight at the end of Easter Day (April 20/21).
[Russia does not apply daylight saving time, while Ukraine does. So, from spring through summer to autumn, local times are the same for Moscow and Kyiv.]
“Today from 1800 (1500 GMT Saturday) to midnight Sunday (2100 GMT Sunday), the Russian side announces an Easter truce,” Putin had said in televised comments during a meeting with Russian general staff chief Valery Gerasimov.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to the truce but said Russia violated it nearly 3,000 times across all fronts. Despite these violations, no attacks on civilian targets occurred during the ceasefire.
Zelensky later proposed a 30-day pause on attacks targeting civilian infrastructure, with the possibility of extending it.
“This is a format of silence that has been achieved and which is easiest to continue,” he said, adding that Ukraine would respond symmetrically once the truce ended. “Our strikes will be used as protection against Russian attacks. Actions are always more eloquent than words,” Zelensky concluded.