Russian Drone Strikes Kill Two in Odesa Ahead of Orthodox Easter Ceasefire

Russian drone strikes killed at least two people and wounded two others in the Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight into Saturday, local authorities reported. The attacks targeted a residential area of the Black Sea port city, damaging apartment buildings, houses, and a kindergarten. The strikes occurred hours before a proposed 32-hour ceasefire was set to begin for Orthodox Easter.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 160 drones overnight, of which 133 were shot down or intercepted. Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported shooting down 99 Ukrainian drones across Russia and occupied Crimea during the same period.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the ceasefire on Thursday, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4 p.m. Saturday until the end of Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to abide by the ceasefire, calling it an opportunity to advance peace initiatives. “Easter should be a time of silence and safety. A ceasefire (at) Easter could also become the beginning of real movement toward peace,” Zelenskyy wrote in an online post on Saturday. However, he warned of a swift military response to any violations, adding, “We all understand who we are dealing with. Ukraine will adhere to the ceasefire and respond strictly in kind.”

Earlier, Ukraine proposed a pause in attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure over the Orthodox Easter holiday. Previous ceasefire attempts have had limited impact, with both sides accusing each other of violations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Putin’s ceasefire declaration as a “humanitarian” gesture but emphasized that Moscow remains focused on a comprehensive settlement based on its longstanding demands, a key obstacle to ending the conflict.

On Saturday, a prisoner exchange took place, bringing home 175 Russian soldiers, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry. Zelenskyy confirmed the exchange, stating that 175 service members and seven civilians were returned. “Most had been held in captivity since 2022. And finally, they are home,” he wrote on X.

At the exchange site in northern Ukraine, Svitlana Pohosyan awaited her son’s return. When asked about the ceasefire, she said, “I want to believe it. God willing, may it be so. We will believe and hope that everything will be fine, that a ceasefire will come on such a holy day, and that there will be peace — peace in Ukraine and peace in the whole world.” She added, “My celebration will come when my son returns. I will hold him in my arms — and that will be the greatest celebration for me. And for every mother, every family.”

Periodic prisoner exchanges have been one of the few positive outcomes of otherwise fruitless months-long U.S.-brokered negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, which have failed to resolve key issues preventing an end to Russia’s invasion, now in its fifth year.

Separately, seven residents of Russia’s Kursk region returned from Ukraine on Saturday after being captured by the Ukrainian army, Russian state media reported. They were greeted at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border by Russia’s human rights ombudswoman, Tatyana Moskalkova. According to Moskalkova, these returnees were the last of those taken to Ukraine from the Kursk region after Ukrainian forces took control of parts of the region in 2024.

The Ukrainian incursion into Kursk in August 2024 marked one of their biggest battlefield successes, representing the first time Russian territory was occupied by an invader since World War II and delivering a significant blow to the Kremlin.