Zelenskyy says Russia chose 'Easter escalation' over ceasefire as Ukraine war intensifies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia chose an “Easter escalation” over an Easter ceasefire after carrying out a deadly drone and missile attack against the country.

At least six civilians were killed, and 40 others were injured after Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles across the country. It is important to note that Moscow is ramping up once rare daylight attacks.

Rescuers had to rescue survivors from beneath the rubble of their homes after drones and missiles from Russia destroyed a whole line of houses in Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region.

Meanwhile, in the capital of Kyiv, a drone was captured hurtling towards a block of flats, then slamming into its side and starting a fire. A woman was killed and lots of other people were left wounded in Kharkiv, in strikes that the city’s mayor has called “one of the biggest” so far.

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Holiday truce derails

Zelenskyy said that the missile and drone barrage was Russia’s response to his proposal for a temporary ceasefire during the holidays as Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter next weekend, both in Ukraine and in Russia.

“The Russians have only intensified their strikes, turning what should have been silence in the skies into an Easter escalation,” the president said.

Zelenskyy said that a proposed holiday truce remains an option, provided Moscow agrees. He added that this message was conveyed during a call with US President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Meanwhile, plans for additional in-person talks with Russia, to be mediated by the United States, have been postponed twice. Moscow has stated that the negotiations are currently “on hold.”

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Russia made no territorial gains in March

Russia’s army recorded almost no territorial gains on the front line in Ukraine in March for the first time in two and a half years, AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) showed.

The Russian army has been slowing in its advances since late 2025 – because of Kyiv’s localised breakthroughs in the southeast of the country – and lost ground in February and March on the southern section of the front line between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Across the entire front line, the Russian army seized only 23 square kilometres (8.9 square miles) in March, losing territory in some areas, according to the analysis.

The Russian army made 319 square kilometres of gains in January and 123 square kilometres in February, which was then the smallest advance since April 2024.

With inputs from agencies

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