Russia 'violates ceasefire' with wave of drone strikes on Ukraine

Russia has violated a Kremlin-declared Easter ceasefire after it attacked Ukrainian positions with drones today. 

'The ceasefire is not being observed by the Russian side,' said Serhii Kolesnychenko, a communications officer for Ukraine's 148th Separate Artillery Brigade.

He said that while artillery fire had paused in the sector where his brigade was working, at the junction of the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, Russian forces continued to use drones to strike Ukrainian positions.

Ukrainian forces were responding with 'silence to silence and fire to fire', Mr Kolesnychenko said.

Ukraine's military command has also reported nearly 470 Russian violations of the truce. 

'After 4:00 pm, 469 ceasefire violations were recorded, namely: 22 enemy assault actions, 153 shelling attacks, 19 strikes by attack drones... and 275 strikes by FPV drones,' it said on Facebook.

'Today in total, the enemy carried out 57 air strikes and dropped 182 guided aerial bombs. In addition, it deployed 3,928 kamikaze drones and conducted 2,454 shelling attacks on populated areas and positions of our troops'.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4pm on Saturday until the end of Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to abide by the ceasefire, describing it as an opportunity to build on peace initiatives. But he warned there would be a swift military response to any violations.

The latest flare-up comes despite Moscow and Kyiv both signalling that the end of the war in Ukraine may be in sight. 

Russia's hardline foreign minister issued a surprise statement that 'the prospect of a political and diplomatic settlement is on the horizon.'

At the same time, Ukraine's top negotiator Lt-Gen Kyrylo Budanov, 40, made clear Russia is shifting its stance. 'They all understand the war needs to end. That's why they are negotiating,' he told Bloomberg. 'I don't think it will be long.'

It comes as new footage showed a Ukrainian drone brigade killing 8,000 Russian troops in a single month. 

The video shows stricken Russian soldiers desperately trying to fend off approaching drones, throwing sticks and swatting at them in a futile bid to survive.

The harrowing scenes show multiple 'cannon fodder' fighters ambushed on the battlefield by the Ukrainian FPV drones. 

In one month, the brigade 'eliminated 8,005 Russian troops'. 

The grim scenes emerged as both sides began the tense truce today, with Zelensky writing in an X post: 'Easter should be a time of silence and safety. A ceasefire (at) Easter could also become the beginning of real movement toward peace.'

But he added: 'We all understand who we are dealing with. Ukraine will adhere to the ceasefire and respond strictly in kind.'

Ukraine earlier proposed to Russia a pause in attacks on each other's energy infrastructure over the Orthodox Easter holiday.

Previous ceasefire attempts have had little impact, with both sides accusing each other of violations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday described Putin's move as a 'humanitarian' gesture but said Moscow remains focused on a comprehensive settlement based on its long-standing demands - a key sticking point that has prevented the two sides from reaching an agreement.

Hours before the ceasefire was due to begin, Russian drone strikes overnight killed at least two people in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, local authorities reported.

A further two people were wounded in the attack on the Black Sea port city, when drones hit a residential area, damaging apartment buildings, houses and a kindergarten.

The driver of a public trolley bus was killed after the vehicle was struck by a drone in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, less than an hour before the start of the ceasefire, Kherson regional head Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia targeted Ukraine with 160 drones overnight, of which 133 were shot down or intercepted, hours before a proposed Easter ceasefire was due to come into force.

Russia's Defence Ministry said 99 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight across Russia and occupied Crimea.

It added that a prisoner swap on Saturday brought home 175 of its soldiers. 

Zelensky confirmed Saturday's exchange, saying that 175 service members and seven civilians were returned. 

'Most had been held in captivity since 2022. And finally, they are home,' he wrote on X.

Hundreds of relatives, clutching photos of missing soldiers, crowded around ambulances and buses carrying returned prisoners of war in northern Ukraine. 

Many called out names and brigade numbers in hopes of finding loved ones faster.