On Thursday, Ukrainian regional officials confirmed that fresh Russian aerial assaults targeting civilian areas across Ukraine have left two civilians dead and at least three more wounded, as both Moscow and Kyiv confirm they are in active preparations for a long-awaited prisoner swap timed to coincide with the Orthodox Easter holiday on April 12.
The deadly attacks mark the latest escalation in ongoing hostilities that have stretched into the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In Dnipropetrovsk region’s Synelnykove district, one civilian was killed in a strike that also left a woman and a 12-year-old boy injured, regional military administrator Oleksandr Hazha confirmed. In Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv, a strike triggered a blaze at a residential apartment building and left a 61-year-old woman wounded, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. A separate ballistic missile attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv claimed one more life and left a 17-year-old girl injured, city military administration head Dmytro Bryzhynskyi added. Authorities also reported that the Odesa region in southern Ukraine was targeted in another wave of attacks, as part of a broader Russian assault that deployed 172 strike drones across the country. Ukraine’s Air Force noted that its air defense teams successfully intercepted 147 of the incoming drones.
Amid the ongoing violence, prisoner exchanges have emerged as one of the only consistent areas of limited progress in U.S.-brokered negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, talks that have failed to yield breakthroughs on core issues that could bring an end to the full-scale invasion. This year, both sides are working to finalize a new round of swaps ahead of the Orthodox Easter celebration. Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia’s human rights ombudswoman, confirmed the ongoing preparations to reporters on Thursday, noting that extensive work is underway to complete the exchange in time for the holiday. Last week, Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, stated that Kyiv hopes to secure a large-scale “major exchange” of detainees during the Easter period.
The lead-up to this year’s Easter has also seen renewed debates over a potential temporary ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently proposed a truce to cover the Easter holiday, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov pushed back on the idea earlier this week, saying Moscow prioritizes a permanent, long-lasting peace agreement rather than a short-term halt to hostilities. The discussion of temporary ceasefires comes with prior context: last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally announced a 30-hour ceasefire for the Easter period, but both Moscow and Kyiv quickly accused one another of violating the truce within hours of it taking effect.