Missile and drone strikes resume as poorly observed ‘Easter truce’ ends in Ukraine

Russia renewed its attacks on Ukraine overnight following the end of a hastily announced “Easter truce” on Monday, launching 96 drones and three missiles at targets in the country, the Ukrainian Air Force has announced.

Even while the 30-hour truce, which was announced by Vladimir Putin on Saturday evening and lasted until midnight on Monday, was technically in place, there were numerous claims of violations by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia had violated the truce 2,935 times, while the AFU itself said that the most egregious Russian violations of the ceasefire had occurred around the Donetsk region city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.

In total, Russia attempted 96 assault manoeuvres, attacked Ukrainian positions 1,882 times, and used more than 950 combat drones during the ceasefire, Zelensky said.

“Moscow didn’t respond either to a proposal for a complete ceasefire for the 30 days after Easter, or to the proposal to extend the truce to civilian infrastructure and an end to missile and drone strikes,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine would “respond to Russian attacks with attacks of our own. Actions speak louder than words”.

Moscow also accused Kyiv of violating the ceasefire. The Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday afternoon that the AFU had launched over 900 drones during the truce, while acknowledging a marked reduction in Ukrainian military activity along the frontline. It also reiterated its position that Russian forces had strictly observed the ceasefire.

According to Russian news agency TASS, Russian air defences shot down 104 Ukrainian drones, while border areas in Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod came under fire 19 times.

The Defence Ministry also reported heavy Ukrainian personnel losses, claiming that up to 150 AFU soldiers had been killed along the frontline and another 30 near the Kharkiv region city of Kupyansk, though these figures remain unverified by independent sources. The ministry also said that its forces had carried out strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure, targeting airfields, ammunition depots, and drone storage sites in 74 locations.

Since the ceasefire ended, Ukraine’s Kherson region has been hit by an Onyx anti-ship cruise missile, and its Mykolayiv region has been struck by two missiles, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) said on Monday.

Despite Zelensky calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day unconditional truce, on Sunday Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Vladimir Putin had not given a command to extend the Easter truce.