Russia strikes targets in Kyiv region as Ukraine holds door open for Easter truce
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a “massive” missile and drone strike on Friday near the Ukrainian capital, killing one person and injuring eight, regional authorities reported, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaled Kyiv's openness to a potential Easter truce. The holiday is celebrated on April 12 in both Ukraine and Russia.
Another person died Friday after a Russian bomb struck an apartment block in northern Ukraine, according to local officials.
“The Kyiv region is once again under a massive Russian missile and drone attack," said Mykola Kalashnyk, head of the regional military administration, in a Telegram post on Friday morning.
According to Kalashnyk, one person died and at least eight more suffered injuries as a result of strikes on three of Kyiv's satellite towns — Bucha, Fastiv and Obukhiv. About 20 animals died after a veterinary clinic was struck, Kalashnyk added.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said in a post on X that “almost half a thousand drones and cruise missiles” attacked Ukraine overnight.
“This is how Moscow responds to Ukraine’s Easter ceasefire proposals — with brutal attacks,” Sybiha said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday signaled Kyiv's continued openness to a potential truce on Easter, which falls next week according to the Julian calendar followed by Orthodox churches in Ukraine and Russia.
Zelenskyy told reporters that the proposal had been communicated to Moscow through U.S. channels. He added that the Kremlin's response remains unclear.
Zelenskyy has previously offered a ceasefire for the Easter period — but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Moscow wants a lasting peace settlement, not a temporary truce.
President Vladimir Putin unilaterally declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of breaking it.
One person died on Friday in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, near the Russian border, after a Russian guided aerial bomb struck a residential block in the city of Shostka, local Gov. Oleh Hryhorov reported. He said three more people were hospitalized with injuries following the strike, including a 29-year-old woman whose condition was serious.
In Russia, 192 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russia and occupied Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday morning.
Two people were hospitalized on Friday following a Ukrainian drone strike on the Leningrad region, over 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) from the border, regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko reported. According to Drozdenko, the drones also set fire to an “unoccupied” building within the Morozov industrial zone.
The settlement of Morozov houses a state-owned plant that makes explosives and components for ammunition, including solid fuel used in Topol-M missile systems. The plant was put under U.S., EU and other Western sanctions following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Twelve people, including at least three Russian soldiers, were injured in a Ukrainian drone strike late Thursday on Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported. Separately, he said that seven people were wounded in the region after a drone struck a commercial facility.
Four drones were downed during the night on the approach to Moscow, mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported Friday. He did not reference any casualties or damage.
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