Closing summary
It is approaching 8pm in Kyiv and Moscow. This blog will be closing shortly. You can keep up to date on the Guardian’s Russia-Ukraine coverage here.
Here is a summary of the updates from today’s live blog:
Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral 30-hour Easter ceasefire in Ukraine on Saturday, after Washington said it could abandon peace talks within days unless Moscow and Kyiv show they are ready to stop the war. According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will last from 6pm Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday to midnight (2100 GMT) following Easter Sunday.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the ceasefire “another attempt by Putin to play with human lives”. He wrote on X that “air raid alerts are spreading across Ukraine” and “Shahed drones in our skies reveal Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and toward human life”.
Andrii Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said that Kyiv had in March “agreed unconditionally to the US proposal of a full interim ceasefire for 30 days”, which Russia had rejected. “Putin has now made statements about his alleged readiness for a ceasefire. 30 hours instead of 30 days,” Sybiha continued, writing on X. “Unfortunately, we have had a long history of his statements not matching his actions.”
Ukraine and Russia conducted a swap of more than 500 prisoners of war on Saturday, the latest in a series of exchanges since Russia launched a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. Zelenskyy, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, said 277 Ukrainian service personnel had returned home from Russian captivity. Russia’s defence ministry said 246 servicemen had been handed over by Kyiv. It said a further 31 injured prisoners of war had been handed over to Ukraine and 15 of its own wounded servicemen had also been returned by Kyiv.
Moscow’s troops have driven out Ukrainian forces from nearly all of Russia’s western Kursk region, Russia’s military chief, Valery Gerasimov, said. “The bulk of the area where the invasion took place has now been cleared,” Gerasimov told Putin in a televised meeting. “It’s 1,260 square km, 99.5%.”
Posting on X on Saturday, the Ukrainian president said “our forces continued their activity on the territory of the Kursk region and are holding their positions”. He added: “In the Belgorod region, our warriors have advanced and expanded our zone of control.”
Russian troops are “solidifying their presence” in the village of Kalynove in the Donetsk region, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing the DeepState military blog, which is considered close to Ukraine’s army. The publication reports, sourcing DeepState, that Russian forces are deploying infantry, and establishing logistical routes and communication lines in Kalynove.
The US is prepared to recognise Russian control of the Ukrainian region of Crimea as part of a broader peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, Bloomberg News has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. According to Bloomberg, the people said a final decision on the matter had not yet been taken, and the White House and state department did not respond to a request for comment.
The US representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a pro-Ukraine Republican representing Pennsylvania, signed an artillery shell with a message intended for Vladimir Putin during a visit with Ukrainian troops yesterday after a meeting with Zelenskyy. Fitzpatrick was filmed signing the shell with a message that read: “To: Putin, From: PA-1. #PeaceThroughStrength.”
Australia will use “whatever avenues” it can to help Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins, who faces a 15-year jail term in Russia for fighting with Ukrainian troops. The prime minister said on Saturday that the government would “continue to make representations to the reprehensible regime of Vladimir Putin” to release Jenkins, 33, a former teacher who fought with Ukraine’s armed forces against Russia’s invasion.
Updated
Ukrainian survivors speak after Russia’s attack on Sumy
Last weekend, Alla Shyrshonkova got on the 62 bus on a journey to her cottage near the Ukrainian city of Sumy. It was a warm spring day. “I thought I’d sit with friends, have some tea. Birds were singing. The weather was beautiful. It was so nice,” she recalled.
“The bus was packed. There wasn’t a single free seat. People were standing. Some were going to church for Palm Sunday. There were families with children.”
As she reached the city centre she heard a loud bang. Two minutes later – as the bus made its way down Petropavlivska street – there was a second massive explosion. “The blast was in front of me, so I didn’t see it. I only heard it. I was sitting behind the driver, with my back to him. When I heard the noise, I covered my head with my hands and ducked.”
After that, she said, “rocks, glass and everything went flying”. Shyrshonkova lifted her head. Blood was gushing “like a fountain” from her arm. “I saw cars on fire and smoke. People were lying at my feet. I said to them: ‘Get up, get up.’ They were silent.”
A conductor called the name of the driver – “Kolya” – but there was no reply. Passengers tried to climb out of a window. Eventually, a teenage boy opened a door and she staggered out.
The double strike on Sumy was the bloodiest single moment this year in Russia’s murderous war against Ukraine. The Iskander ballistic missiles carried deadly cluster of munitions which released a wave of shrapnel. Thirty-five people were killed.
Read the full story here:
