Overview
- The 32-hour ceasefire, announced by the Kremlin on Thursday, began Saturday at 4 p.m. local time with Ukraine saying it would match any breach in kind.
- Ukraine’s general staff reported more than 460 violations during the truce, while Russian officials accused Kyiv of a drone strike in the Kursk region that injured three people.
- Hours before the pause, strikes and drone attacks killed at least three people in Odessa and Poltava and injured residents in Sumy, underscoring the fragility of the lull.
- Both sides conducted a prisoner swap on Saturday that freed 350 people in total, including 14 civilians split evenly between the two parties.
- The Kremlin said it did not coordinate the truce with Kyiv or Washington and tied it to no talks, as U.S.-facilitated negotiations remain stalled and Ukrainians voice deep skepticism after past holiday ceasefires fell apart.