Ukraine says it was struck by a new barrage of deadly Russian air attacks as an Easter ceasefire ended and as the clock ticks for Kyiv to respond to a United States peace proposal this week.
At least three people were killed and several wounded in Russian attacks in the southern Kherson region, said the head of its regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin.
Blasts also rocked the nearby southern port city of Mykolaiv early Monday, according to its mayor, with air alerts issued for several eastern regions.
“Explosions were heard,” Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said on Telegram. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties or the extent of the damage.
Meanwhile, at least four people were wounded in the eastern Donetsk region, according to the head of its regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin.
The attacks came hours after the expiration of an Easter ceasefire called by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which both sides accused each other of violating.
The surprise truce came after the US on Thursday submitted its latest proposal in its so far fruitless efforts to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
Crimea in southern Ukraine has been under Russian occupation since it was illegally annexed, and any move to recognize Moscow’s control of the peninsula would reverse around a decade of US policy.
The US proposal – which has also been submitted to Moscow – would also put a ceasefire in place along the front lines of the conflict, the source said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday that the US was ready to “move on” from efforts to bring peace to Ukraine within days if there were no tangible signs of progress.
US President Donald Trump has offered more optimism, saying in a Truth Social post on Sunday that “hopefully” Russia and Ukraine “would make a deal this week.” He didn’t specify what type of deal might be agreed.
Trump has declined to say whether he is prepared to walk away completely from the talks or whether the US would support Ukraine militarily if talks fall through.
The Trump administration is simultaneously planning another meeting between US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russians to get Moscow on board with the framework, the source said.
There has been no comment so far from Kyiv or Moscow on the US proposal. US, Ukrainian and European officials are set to meet in London this week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed willingness to agree to a peace deal with Moscow but said last month that his government would not recognize any occupied territories as Russian, calling that a “red line.”