Ukraine accused Russia of striking several cities after a unilateral ceasefire declared by President Volodymyr Zelensky came into force at midnight on 6 May, though Moscow had not agreed to observe the pause.
Kyiv said Russian forces launched more than 100 drones and three missiles after the ceasefire began. Ukraine said the attacks showed Moscow had rejected the offer, which Zelensky announced in response to a separate Russian ceasefire plan tied to Victory Day events in Moscow.
The Kremlin had not said it would take part in Kyiv’s ceasefire. Russia had earlier proposed its own pause for 8 and 9 May, when it marks the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with ceremonies and a military parade.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia’s strikes on Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia showed that Moscow’s ceasefire language was not linked to diplomacy.
“This shows fake calls for a ceasefire on May 9th have nothing to do with diplomacy. Putin only cares about military parades, not human lives,” Sybiha wrote in a post on X.
Zelensky said Ukraine would respond in kind if Russia kept attacking. He accused Moscow of 1,820 ceasefire violations by late Wednesday morning.
“Russia’s choice is an obvious spurning of a ceasefire and of saving lives,” Zelensky said.
Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks continued in Sumy, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and Zaporizhzhia after midnight. Reuters reported that two people were killed in separate drone strikes in Sumy, including one attack on a civilian car and another on a kindergarten where no children were present.
The latest claims followed a deadly wave of Russian strikes on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials said at least 27 to 28 people were killed in attacks across several regions before Kyiv’s ceasefire began.
In Zaporizhzhia, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said Russian glide bombs and drone attacks killed at least 12 people and wounded 20. Officials said the strikes hit civilian buildings, including homes and a car repair shop.
Further north-east, officials said six people were killed in Kramatorsk, a Ukrainian-held city in Donetsk region. Four more deaths were reported in Dnipro.
Russian strikes also hit state-run gas facilities in Poltava and Kharkiv regions. Naftogaz chief Serhiy Koretskyi said three employees and two rescue workers were killed. He said the attack used drones and ballistic missiles and caused production losses and damage to gas facilities.
Zelensky called the attacks “absolutely cynical, senseless terrorist strikes devoid of any military sense”.
Russia did not accept Kyiv’s midnight ceasefire before it began. Moscow officials also gave no sign that they had suspended operations in response to Zelensky’s proposal.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had downed Ukrainian drones overnight, but did not state whether any were intercepted after the start of Kyiv’s declared ceasefire.
The rival ceasefire announcements came as peace talks backed by the United States remain stalled. Russia continues to press operations in eastern Ukraine, while Kyiv has sought more air defence support from European partners.
Moscow has also warned Ukraine against disrupting Victory Day events. Russia’s defence ministry said it would respond to attacks during the commemorations with a “massive missile attack” on Kyiv.
The warning came as Russia prepared a reduced parade in Moscow because of security concerns. The Guardian reported that the event was expected to take place without tanks and ballistic missiles for the first time in nearly two decades.
Russia has also moved air defence systems to Moscow and restricted mobile internet access as a security step, according to The Guardian.
Ukrainian attacks have reached Russian territory in recent days. Officials in Russian-held Crimea said five civilians were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on Dzhankoi. Authorities in Russia’s Chuvash Republic said two people were killed and at least 32 wounded in a separate drone attack.
Ukraine also struck the Kinef oil refinery in Russia’s Leningrad region on Tuesday, according to regional governor Alexander Drozdenko. The refinery processed 17.5 million tonnes of oil in 2024.
Zelensky’s ceasefire offer was open-ended. He said Ukraine would not attack unless Russia did first. The move placed the focus on Moscow, which had requested its own pause around the Red Square parade but did not accept Kyiv’s earlier start time.
Ukraine said it would decide further steps after reviewing Russia’s actions. Zelensky had said Kyiv would act symmetrically if the ceasefire was broken.
HT
