Overview
- Russia’s 32-hour Easter truce, which began Saturday at 4 p.m. local time, calls for a halt to operations with Ukraine pledging to match any restraint.
- Following Friday night’s large drone barrage that Ukrainian officials put at 128 to 160 launches, authorities reported civilian deaths and injuries in Odesa, Poltava, and Sumy.
- After the pause started, a Ukrainian brigade officer said Russian drones were still hitting positions, while governors in Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions reported Ukrainian drone strikes that wounded several people.
- As the ceasefire took hold, Moscow and Kyiv exchanged 175 prisoners of war each, with officials describing the swap as a rare humanitarian channel that continues to function.
- The pause echoes last year’s short Easter truce that both sides said was violated, and it comes as US-led talks stall and territorial demands keep a broader peace deal out of reach.