Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the coming months will be difficult for his country politically, militarily, and diplomatically, while the Kremlin emphasized the economic nature of its envoy's visit to the United States. Zelenskyy explained that Ukraine is facing increasing pressure on the front lines, along with demands from some international partners to reduce attacks on Russian oil facilities. He called on Moscow to cease attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and agree to trilateral peace talks under international mediation. Zelenskyy also urged the full reinstatement of sanctions on Russian oil, arguing that their easing had bolstered Moscow's ability to fund its military operations, taking advantage of the sharp rise in global energy prices. He revealed that Kyiv's partners had requested it stop long-range strikes on Russian oil facilities due to concerns about the impact on global energy market stability. Zelenskyy noted that these requests came at various political and military levels, even as Kyiv continues to view these attacks as part of its strategy to deplete Russian war resources. In turn, the Kremlin stated that the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, to the US does not signal a resumption of peace talks on Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that Dmitriev is not participating in any political negotiations but is heading an economic working group and handling tasks related to financial and investment cooperation. In a parallel development, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a temporary ceasefire for Orthodox Easter, lasting 32 hours from Saturday evening to the midnight between Sunday and Monday. The Kremlin confirmed the decision was not pre-coordinated with Kyiv or Washington, adding that Russian forces would respond to any potential violations during the truce. Ukraine, for its part, expressed readiness to adhere to the ceasefire provided Russia does the same. Zelenskyy reminded that Kyiv had previously proposed a similar truce for religious occasions, but past ceasefires failed to lead to a sustainable calm due to mutual accusations of violations. On the battlefield, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on energy facilities within Russia in recent weeks, targeting refineries and strategic ports in an attempt to curtail Moscow's ability to fund the war. Meanwhile, Russia continued its air and missile strikes on multiple Ukrainian regions, resulting in casualties among civilians on both sides. Ukrainian authorities reported two killed and three wounded in Russian strikes on areas in Dnipro in the east of the country. Moscow, in turn, reported a civilian killed in a drone attack on the Volgograd region and a woman injured in a missile strike on the border Bryansk region.
