Russia Resumes Attacks on Ukraine After Easter 'Ceasefire' Breaks Down

Russia has resumed its attacks on Ukraine, killing at least three people in the southern Kherson region, after a 30-hour Easter ceasefire that Kyiv said Moscow's armed forces repeatedly violated.

- Luke Harding Kyiv Pjotr Sauer

In a statement yesterday, Russia's military said it was continuing "the special military operation" - Vladimir Putin's phrase for his 2022 full-scale invasion. Over the weekend Russian troops "strictly observed" the pause in fighting, it claimed.

The ceasefire expired at midnight yesterday. The announcement means the Kremlin has rejected an offer - made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and endorsed on Sunday by the US state department - to extend the truce by 30 days.

Writing on social media, Zelenskyy said he had proposed a "complete, full and honest ceasefire". He suggested both sides refrain from carrying out strikes with missiles and drones against civilian infrastructure.

"The nature of Ukrainian actions will continue to be mirrored: we will respond to silence with silence, our strikes will be to protect against Russian strikes. Actions always speak louder than words," he posted on X.

Putin said Moscow would consider the Ukrainian ceasefire proposal, but accused Kyiv of using civilian sites for military purposes. "We will analyse everything and take the corresponding decisions," Putin told state reporters in Moscow.