Zelenskyy offers an Easter pause on energy strikes as Russian drone kills 4 in bus strike

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Ukraine is proposing to Russia a pause in attacks on each other鈥檚 energy infrastructure over the Orthodox Easter holiday, which will be observed this coming weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The offer was made through the United States, which has been between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv, Zelenskyy said, as stretches into a fifth year.

鈥淚f Russia is ready to stop strikes on our energy infrastructure, we will be ready to respond in kind,鈥� the Ukrainian leader said in a public address late Monday. “This proposal, conveyed through the Americans, has already been presented to the Russian side.鈥�

There was no immediate comment from Moscow about the proposal. to secure ceasefires have had little or no impact. Russian President Vladimir Putin a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of breaking it.

Russia effectively rejected a 30-day unconditional truce proposed last year by the U.S. and Ukraine as a step toward peace, insisting instead on a comprehensive settlement, but Moscow has announced several short, unilateral ceasefires.

Zelenskyy said he doubted the Kremlin would take up his offer for the April 12 holiday pause as Russia is currently benefiting from driven by the .

that a prolonged U.S.-Israeli war on Iran could erode America鈥檚 support for Ukraine.

The U.S.-led talks have made no progress on key issues, as Washington鈥檚 attention is held by the Middle East conflict, and the Russian and Ukrainian armies remain locked in battle on the roughly 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line.

At the same time, Russia has in an effort to demoralize civilians while Kyiv鈥檚 domestically produced long-range drones have repeatedly in a bid to dent Moscow鈥檚 main export revenue.

鈥淯kraine鈥檚 expanding long-range strike campaign against Russian oil infrastructure is exploiting overstretched Russian air defenses and significantly damaging Russian oil export capabilities,鈥� the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said in an assessment late Monday.

鈥淩ussia鈥檚 geographical size poses an enormous challenge to defend, especially with traditional air defense systems on which the Russians reportedly still rely to protect against Ukraine drone salvos,鈥� it added.

Russia is also targeting public transport, including and bus services.

On Tuesday morning, a Russian drone struck a bus as it approached a stop, killing four civilians and injuring 15 others, in the southeastern Ukraine city of Nikopol, authorities said.

鈥淭his brutal attack on civilian regular transportation occurred during rush hour, when people were just going to work,鈥� Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote in an online post. 鈥淭his is not an accident, it鈥檚 their (Russian) tactic: deliberate strikes on civilians.鈥�

Also, Ukrainian authorities said three people were killed and three others were injured in an attack on a residential building in the southern city of Kherson. An 11-year-old boy was killed in a drone strike near the eastern city of Synelnykove, officials there said, bringing the day鈥檚 civilian death toll to eight.

Government and military authorities also reported power cuts in several eastern and southern areas in Ukraine following artillery and drone strikes.

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