Kyiv prepared for its first wartime visit from two top US officials as Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine, including a deadly strike in the port city of Odesa, that all but buried hopes of a truce for Orthodox Easter.

Axar.az reports that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said he would meet with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin, in Kyiv on Sunday. The White House declined to comment.

Speaking at a news conference, Zelensky gave little detail about logistics of the encounter but said he expected concrete results “not just presents or some kind of cakes, we are expecting specific things and specific weapons”.