Russia early on Monday launched missiles and drones targeting Ukraine, waking up Kyiv and the eastern half of the country, a few hours after the one-day Easter ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin came to an end.
In a post on social media, regional Ukrainian officials said there were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage from the attacks.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 96 drones and three missiles in overnight attacks targeting Ukraine, causing damage in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions.
According to the air force, air defence units repelled 42 Russian drones, and another 47 drones were redirected by electronic warfare.
Both Kyiv and Moscow had accused each other of thousands of attacks that violated the truce that the Kremlin indicated on Sunday would not be extended.
The United States had said it would welcome an extension of the truce, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated several times Ukraine’s willingness to pause strikes for 30 days in the war.
However, Putin, who ordered on Saturday the halt in all military activity along the front line until midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT) on Sunday, did not give orders to extend it.
Zelenskiy said early on Monday that his forces were instructed to continue to mirror the Russian army’s actions.
“The nature of Ukraine’s actions will remain symmetrical: ceasefire will be met with ceasefire, and Russian strikes will be met with our own in defense. Actions always speak louder than words,” he said on X.
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