Vladimir Putin renewed overnight strikes on Ukrainian civilians – hours after hinting he would “study” Kyiv’s proposals to halt such attacks. Odesa was hit with dozens of military drones triggering multiple fires in which three people were injured.
Reports say Russian forces deployed a new upgraded Iranian-designed Shahed drone with a jet engine and “enhanced warhead” making a horrific wailing sound before smashing into targets in the Black Sea port city. “Civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, an educational institution, and vehicles were damaged,” said the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
Separately, in a Russian airstrike on the village of Petropavlivka, Kharkiv region, two people were killed. And in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Putin’s forces – after their so-called Easter ‘truce’ – struck a hospital in a terror attack, causing destruction and frightening patients and doctors.
Earlier, Putin had appeared to respond positively to a Volodmyr Zelensky proposal “not to strike at least at civilian infrastructure. “And we expect a clear answer from Moscow. We are ready for any conversation on how to ensure this.” Putin had said: “This is all a subject for careful study. Perhaps bilaterally, as a result of dialogue. We do not rule this out.”
It is the first time Putin has appeared to agree to direct talks with Kyiv with Zelensky in power. It raises the slight possibility that a ceasefire could be agreed by Donald Trump’s 100 days in office in just seven days time. “We’ll see how it works,” said Trump, adding there had been “very good” meetings on Russia and Ukraine.
Despite this, yet more sickening Russian strikes on civilians and their infrastructure were unleashed as the Kremlin dictator continued to send out mixed signals. Earlier, Putin had given chilling admission that he ordered strikes on two civilian sites – which slaughtered and wounded dozens of civilians, and have been labelled war crimes by the Ukrainians.
It is the first time Putin has commented on the appalling killings by his forces. A week before Easter, on Palm Sunday, he unleashed Iskander-M missiles on the congress centre of Sumy University, killing at least 35, the vast majority civilians, including children, leaving 125 wounded.
Showing no remorse for the civilians he killed and maimed, Putin said: “We are all well aware of the attack by our armed forces on the congress centre [at] Sumy University. Is it a civilian facility or not? Civilian. But there was an award ceremony there for those who committed crimes in the Kursk region – both units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and nationalists.”
Despite the fact that the strike appears to have missed an awards ceremony, he said: “These are the people we consider criminals who should receive deserved retribution for their actions in the border region, including Kursk. They received this retribution. This was done precisely to punish them. It is a civilian facility. But the regime uses these civilian facilities…”
He also sought to explain away an attack on a “restaurant” in Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky’s birthplace, on 4 April, which killed 20 civilians including nine children after a ballistic missile struck close to a playground and residential flats. “Those people who deserve the most severe punishment for their crimes hold some kind of gathering in a restaurant [in Kryvyi Rih],” he said.
Putin admitted: “That happened too. They hold gatherings, meetings, conferences in the restaurant, celebrate something there, drink vodka, and so on. Well, that was also where the strike was carried out. Are these civilian objects? Civilian. But what is the target? Military.”
Instead, reports say that Putin is ready to fast-track a 150-storey Trump Tower in Moscow in a bid to ingratiate himself to the White House. “Russian officials have discussed offering Donald Trump the chance to revive the Trump Tower project in Moscow in an effort to lure the American president into a ‘big deal’ to restore relations,” reported The Moscow Times, citing its own sources.
“Trump himself would be present at the laying of the first stone, which would ensure a powerful media response.” A source close to the Kremlin said: “Here, speed, impact and spectacle are important – everything that Trump intuitively values.” Ukraine scaled back its attacks on Russia overnight. Moscow said only ten Ukrainian drones were shot down.
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