Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Vladimir Putin’s declaration of a 30-hour “Easter truce” has “proven empty” after Russian attacks on Easter Sunday. Elsewhere, the UK has confirmed RAF jets intercepted Russian planes to defend NATO airspace this week. Follow the latest below.
Monday 21 April 2025 07:36, UK
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Russia launched 96 drones and three missiles in fresh attacks this morning, Ukraine’s air force has said.
Air raid alerts sounded in Kyiv and the eastern half of Ukraine, where strikes caused damage in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions, it added.
Defence units shot down 42 Russian drones and another 47 were redirected by electronic warfare, the force added.
It did not give details on the missiles.
More on that Easter truce that did not appear to hold in any meaningful way yesterday.
Yesterday, we reported Ukraine claimed more than 2,000 violations of Russia’s own ceasefire.
That’s now jumped up to 2,935 in all, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“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,” he said in a message on social media app Telegram.
Welcome back, today begins another potentially pivotal week in the war.
Just last night, Donald Trump said he hopes both Russia and Ukraine will agree to a deal this week – but he didn’t expand on this.
On Friday, Trump and his top diplomat Marco Rubio said the US would walk away from talks unless there are clear signs of progress soon, so we’ll keep a close eye on developments.
On the battlefield, Vladimir Putin’s so-called Easter truce officially expired, even though both sides accused the other of violating it.
And Ukraine has already reported widespread attacks – more on that shortly.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest.
Thanks for following our coverage of the war in Ukraine today.
We’re pausing our live updates for now – before we go, here’s a summary of the day’s key developments:
Putin’s ‘Easter truce’ expires
Vladimir Putin’s 30-hour “Easter truce” has come to an end after the Kremlin confirmed the Russian president would not be extending the ceasefire.
Despite Putin’s pledge to “cease all military operations” both sides have been accusing each other of breaking the truce.
Moscow insisted its military groups have “strictly abided” by the ceasefire, and said Ukrainian forces shot at Russian positions more than 444 times, while it counted more than 900 drone attacks.
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s army had violated Putin’s ceasefire “more than 2,000 times” including at least 1,355 cases of Russian shelling.
Zelenskyy proposes pause on some long-range strikes
But the Ukrainian president continued to call for a longer pause, and proposed to “cease any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure” for at least 30 days.
“If Russia does not agree to such a step, it will be proof that it intends to continue doing only those things which destroy human lives and prolong the war,” Zelenskyy added.
We also heard from Donald Trump for the first time since Putin announced his “Easter truce”.
The US president took to Truth Social to say he hopes Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week, stating they would then be able to do “big business” with the US.
RAF scrambled to intercept Russian jets
Away from the situation on the battlefield, the UK Ministry of Defence said RAF fighter jets were scrambled earlier this week to defend NATO airspace from Russian warplanes.
Two Typhoons were scrambled from Malbork air base in Poland on 15 April to intercept a Russian intelligence aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
On 17 April, another two Typhoons scrambled from the base to intercept an unknown aircraft leaving Kaliningrad airspace, close to NATO airspace.
Troops attend Easter services on the frontline
We’ve also been providing you with picture updates showing Ukrainian and Russian troops attending Easter services on the frontline.
Scroll to see the best pictures below – the first three images show Ukrainian servicemen at a service, while the other three show Russian soldiers.
If you missed it a little earlier, Pope Francis included a reference to the war in Ukraine when he made a brief appearance to bless crowds gathered to celebrate Easter Sunday at the Vatican earlier.
It was the 88-year-old pontiff’s first significant public appearance since he left hospital, where he was treated for double pneumonia.
“Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!” Pope Francis managed to say, before an aide read the rest of his annual Urbi et Orbi blessing and speech, which called for an end to the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
“May the risen Christ grant Ukraine, devastated by war, his Easter gift of peace, and encourage all parties involved to pursue efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace,” the message said.
Watch this report from our correspondent Emma Birchley below.
It’s 10pm in the UK, midnight in Moscow and Kyiv, meaning Vladimir Putin’s “Easter truce” has now come to an end.
That’s after the Kremlin said the Russian president has not ordered an extension to the ceasefire (see 4.54pm post).
Despite Putin vowing to “cease all military operations” the pause never got off the ground, with both sides accusing each other of violations (see 2.43pm post).
More recently this evening, Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a longer 30-day pause on “any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure” – we’re yet to hear Moscow’s response.
Although Putin’s “Easter truce” was only in place for 30 hours, its timing was significant after growing US frustration at the lack of progress in peace negotiations.
That’s something our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett points out in his analysis below.
With 20 minutes to go until Vladimir Putin’s Easter truce expires, the measure has been described as “more like a media stunt than reality”.
Czech Republic’s foreign affairs minister Jan Lipavsky said the Russian president’s approach to the truce “is like going on a hunger strike between breakfast and lunch while secretly eating candy”.
Lipavsky has publicly been critical of Putin’s announcement, which he labelled as “propaganda” yesterday.
The truce never really got off the ground, with both Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of attacks since it came into effect at 4pm UK time yesterday afternoon.
We’ve just heard from Donald Trump for the first time since Vladimir Putin announced his “Easter truce” – which will expire in around 40 minutes.
The US president has taken to Truth Social and has written a post in his usual block-capital style.
“HOPEFULLY RUSSIA AND UKRAINE WILL MAKE A DEAL THIS WEEK,” he said.
“BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THRIVING, AND MAKE A FORTUNE!”
We brought you comments from the US State Department earlier this evening, which said it would welcome an extension to Putin’s Easter truce (see 6.33pm post).
But the Kremlin has confirmed that’s something the Russian president has not ordered (see 4.54pm post).
Earlier, we brought you pictures of Ukrainian servicemen marking Easter on the frontline (see 4.13pm post).
We can now show you pictures of Russian soldiers attending an Easter service at an unspecified location in Ukraine.
Each week, Sky’s military analyst Professor Michael Clarke answers questions from readers on the war in Ukraine.
This week, he looked at Donald Trump’s position when it comes to Russia – and how two particular issues may be influencing his stance there.
Clarke also explained why Russia can’t have all of Ukraine and what will happen when the time comes for someone to succeed Putin.
Watch the full Q&A here…
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Ukraine war latest: Trump hopes Ukraine and Russia 'will make a deal this week' – as Putin's 'Easter truce' expires – Sky News
