Russia responded to Kyiv's proposal for a ceasefire over the Easter holidays with attacks on civilian infrastructure and Ukraine's energy sector, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"In fact, this is the Russians' response to our proposal for a ceasefire over the Easter holidays. Ukraine openly made such a proposal to Russia. Russia is responding with Shaheds and continues its terrorist operations against our energy sector, against our infrastructure," Zelenskyy said in his evening video address on Wednesday.

"I spoke with the American team today, including about this. Different signals are needed, and silence on Easter could be exactly the signal that would tell everyone that diplomacy can succeed. Ukraine is doing everything to support work for peace," Zelenskyy said.

According to him, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were in effect shooting down Russian drones throughout the entire day. Air raid alerts were declared in most regions, with more than 700 Russian drones launched, a significant number of them Shaheds. "The interception rate over this 24-hour period is fairly high: around 90%, but of course it needs to be higher," Zelenskyy said.

"Unfortunately," the president added, "there were strikes, in particular in Volyn region, Zakarpattia region, Ternopil region, Chernivtsi region, Cherkasy region, Ivano-Frankivsk region, as well as in other regions." According to him, one of Russia's main targets was once again the energy sector. "In Lutsk, food warehouses and a Nova Poshta terminal were also damaged. In Poltava region and in other regions, residential buildings were damaged," Zelenskyy said.