A rescue worker walks in front of an apartment building badly damaged after a Russian raid in Odessa (AP Photo)
Russian drone attacks hit the Ukrainian port city of Odessa overnight into Saturday, killing at least two people and wounding two others, local authorities said, just hours before a proposed Easter ceasefire was due to take effect.Officials said residential areas were bombed, causing damage to residential buildings, homes and a kindergarten in the Black Sea city. The attack came amid intense air exchanges between Russia and Ukraine ahead of the Orthodox Easter period, the Associated Press reported.The Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia launched 160 drones overnight, of which 133 were intercepted or destroyed. In a separate update, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 99 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over Russian territory and the occupied Crimean Peninsula.The strikes came after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a 32-hour ceasefire on Easter, and ordered a cessation of hostilities from Saturday evening until Sunday. The Kremlin described this step as a “humanitarian” gesture.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev was ready to reverse any real ceasefire steps, but stressed that Moscow had not implemented previous proposals, including halting attacks against energy infrastructure.
Despite this announcement, both sides continued to report raids.The Kremlin said it remained committed to a broader political settlement based on long-standing demands, while Ukraine and its allies pushed for clearer conditions and verification mechanisms.Separately, discussions about a possible prisoner exchange continued over the Easter period. Tatyana Moskalkova, a Russian human rights investigator, said the two sides were working on potential exchanges, a rare area of progress in stalled US-brokered talks that have so far failed to achieve a broader breakthrough in the conflict.
