Sumy residential buildings attacked as Ukraine-Russia Easter ceasefire in doubt
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Deadly Russian airstrikes have continued overnight ahead of the start of a ceasefire to mark Orthodox Easter, heightening scepticism about the truce deal.
Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a 32-hour ceasefire beginning at 4pm on Saturday and ending at midnight on Sunday, after the truce was initially proposed by Ukraine.
“We proceed on the basis that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin announcement said.
But the announcement was followed by a new wave of Russian strikes, killing one civilian at a cafe in Poltava and injuring 14 people across residential areas of Sumy, including an 87-year-old woman and a teen boy.
A similar ceasefire was declared for Orthodox Easter last year, but marred by repeated violations.
In Kyiv, Ukrainians were sceptical about whether the ceasefire would be observed, with one calling it a “fairytale”. “Even today, drones and missiles are still flying,” said Dmytro Sova, 42.
Meanwhile, Russia’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev is in the US to meet members of president Donald Trump‘s administration. Discussions will cover a peace deal for Ukraine and US-Russia economic cooperation, according to officials aware of the matter.
Shahana Yasmin11 April 2026 09:30
Russian drone strikes killed at least two people in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight into Saturday, local authorities said, hours before a proposed Orthodox Easter ceasefire was due to take effect.
Two others were wounded when drones hit a residential area, damaging apartment buildings and houses and a kindergarten.
Firefighters work at the site of an overnight Russian drone strike in Odesa on Saturday (via REUTERS)
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 160 drones overnight, with 133 shot down or intercepted. Russia’s defence ministry said it had destroyed 99 Ukrainian drones across Russia and occupied Crimea.
The strikes came ahead of a 32-hour ceasefire ordered by Russian president Vladimir Putin, set to begin Saturday afternoon. Ukraine has said it is prepared to mirror any pause in hostilities.
Shahana Yasmin11 April 2026 09:00
Drone debris fell on the grounds of an oil depot in the Russian town of Krymsk overnight, triggering a fire, local authorities said.
Officials said the blaze was extinguished by Saturday morning and there were no reported injuries.
Krymsk is located in Russia’s Krasnodar region, which has been targeted in previous cross-border drone strikes during the war.
Shahana Yasmin11 April 2026 08:32
Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces shot down Shahed drones for the US and its allies in the Middle East after they launched a war against Iran, in a rare disclosure of Kyiv’s involvement in the conflict.
Mr Zelensky said the anti-drone operations were a part of a broader effort to help partners counter similar weapons as those used by Russia in Ukraine.
This marks the first public acknowledgement of Kyiv’s assistance to the US and its allies in the region. It comes days after the US and Iran reached a tentative ceasefire.
Adam Withnall11 April 2026 08:00
Ukraine says at least one person has been killed and 15 injured by Russian drone strikes ahead of the start of today’s Easter ceasefire.
The death occurred in Poltava, where a drone struck a shop and a cafe, killing one civilian and wounding another, officials told AFP. Separate strikes in Sumy injured 14 people including a 14-year-old boy and an 87-year-old woman.
The ceasefire marking Orthodox Easter was initially proposed by Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia’s Vladimir Putin has said his forces will cease fire from 4pm on Saturday until the end of Sunday, a span of 32 hours. A similar truce was agreed last year but marred by a number of reported violations.
In Kyiv, Ukrainians told reporters they were sceptical about how well the truce would be observed. “Even today, drones and missiles are still flying,” noted Dmytro Sova, a 42-year-old actor, to AFP. “If they want a ceasefire, then let them start it.”
Adam Withnall11 April 2026 07:11
A Russian court has ordered the detention of Oleg Roldugin, an investigative journalist for independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, following his arrest a day earlier.
Roldugin was arrested on Thursday in a case involving alleged misuse of personal data following a search of his home and a raid by masked security agents on the offices of Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia’s best-known investigative outlets.
Russia has tightened its censorship laws and increased pressure on independent media since it launched its war in Ukraine in 2022. In another case this week, the FSB security service said it had detained a freelance journalist in Siberia on suspicion of treason.
State media on Thursday published a brief video clip of Roldugin’s arrest, showing him being bundled into a van by masked men. Under Russian criminal law, misuse of personal data carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years if it causes “grave consequences”.
Roldugin, standing in a glass box in the courtroom on Friday, told reporters he was innocent.
Adam Withnall11 April 2026 05:27
Nato member Estonia says it cannot afford to detain Russia’s “shadow fleet” vessels in the Baltic Sea and risk the chance Moscow will respond with military force.
Britain and other European nations, including France, Belgium and Sweden, have stepped up efforts to detain ageing oil tankers used by Moscow to evade sanctions and secure vital funding for its four-year war against Ukraine.
But Estonia, the northernmost Baltic state located close to Russia’s main oil and fuel export facilities in the Gulf of Finland, is practising restraint after an unsuccessful attempt to board a Russian vessel last year.
“The risk of military escalation is just too high,” Estonia’s Navy Commander Ivo Vark told Reuters.
In May 2025 Estonia said Moscow sent a fighter jet into Nato airspace over the Baltic Sea during an Estonian attempt to stop an unflagged Russia-bound oil tanker it believed was defying Western sanctions.
The jet eventually escorted the oil tanker into Russian waters.
Adam Withnall11 April 2026 03:54
Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces shot down Shahed drones for the US and its allies in the Middle East after they launched a war against Iran, in a rare disclosure of Kyiv’s involvement in the conflict.
Mr Zelensky said the anti-drone operations were a part of a broader effort to help partners counter similar weapons as those used by Russia in Ukraine.
This marks the first public acknowledgement of Kyiv’s assistance to the US and its allies in the region. It comes days after the US and Iran reached a tentative ceasefire.
James Reynolds11 April 2026 03:00
People on the streets of Kyiv were wary of an Easter truce with Russia, recalling that previous such truces had been quickly violated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a 32-hour ceasefire starting on Saturday afternoon and running throughout Orthodox Easter until midnight on Sunday.
“He can only make promises about some ceasefire. No one is going to hand over our land to him,” said 60-year-old Yuliia, huddled beneath a thick overcoat, as a street thermometer showed 2 degrees Celsius in Kyiv.
Putin’s announcement was similar to a 30-hour ceasefire he ordered last year. Each side accused the other of violating it.
“Every year it’s the same old ‘ceasefire, ceasefire’. Even on one of the New Year’s Eve, when they promised a ceasefire, there was an air raid alarm all night long,” said Varvara, a 17-year-old student who declined to give her second name.
“Well, of course I want to believe it, but no, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
James Reynolds11 April 2026 02:00
Our community is divided over Ukraine’s draft crisis. While some empathised with those fearing the front line, others stressed the duty to fight, and many debated how the army could be better organised:
James Reynolds11 April 2026 01:00