Russian attacks during Easter ceasefires kill three people in Ukraine’s Hosen region
Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – The local governor killed three people in the Holson region of southern Ukraine on Monday in the Russian attack on the 30-hour Easter ceasefire that was unilaterally announced over the weekend.
Governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote in a telegram that the casualties occurred within the past 24 hours, adding that three other people were injured.
Overall, Russian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a telegram statement early Monday morning that Russia violated the ceasefire more than 2,900 times. Zelenskyy said Russian troops carried out 96 raids along the front line, shelling more than 1,800 posts in Ukraine and using hundreds of drones during the ceasefire.
He said: “The nature of Ukrainian action will continue to be like a mirror: we will respond with silent silence, and our blow will be a defense of the Russian blow. Actions are always more eloquent than words.”
Putin announced a temporary Easter truce on Saturday, citing humanitarian reasons. Ukraine said it would return any real ceasefire in Moscow, but expressed doubts about the Kremlin’s intentions. Both parties traded for the violation shortly afterwards. After Easter Sunday, the ceasefire expires at midnight GMT (2100 GMT).
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian troops fired three missiles into southern Ukraine and southern Mikoloi, as well as 96 Shahed drones targeting other parts of the country overnight. It said it knocked down 42 drones and 47 people were blocked in the middle of the flight.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian drones sparked fires in “outside buildings” and “food companies”. No one was injured, he said. The governor said in a telegram that an unspecified infrastructure object in the Cherkasy area was damaged overnight.
The Russian Defense Ministry insisted in a statement on Monday that Moscow’s forces “were strictly observing the ceasefire and staying on previously occupied lines and positions.” It accused Ukraine of violating 4,900 ceasefires, including attempts to six attacks, 1,404 attacks by artillery, multiple rocket launchers and mortars, and 3,316 drone strikes against Russian forces.
The ministry said that once the ceasefire expires, the Russian military “resumes Ukraine’s special military operations.”
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