Ukraine accused Russia of violating a ceasefire initiated by Kyiv overnight, with officials reporting one person killed and three wounded in regions in the north and east of the country.
“Russia violated the ceasefire initiated by Ukraine at midnight between May 5th and 6th,” Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said on X, reporting that Russian attacks continued through the night, including morning strikes on the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
“This shows that Russia rejects peace and its fake calls for a ceasefire on May 9th have nothing to do with diplomacy,” he wrote.
Ukraine’s air force said this morning’s attack involved at least 89 Russian drones as well as ballistic missiles, with hits confirmed in eight different locations. It warned that the attack continues as there are “several enemy UAVs in the airspace”.
The unilateral ceasefire proposed by Volodymyr Zelensky took effect at midnight. At least 27 people were killed in Russian strikes throughout eastern Ukraine in the hours leading up to the start of the ceasefire at midnight (Tuesday 10pm BST).
Putin has not committed to observing the ceasefire, but has proposed his own truce to cover 8 and 9 May, when Russia will commemorate the end of the Second World War with a military parade in Red Square.
Zelensky accuses Russia of spurning ceasefire proposed by Kyiv
Ukraine accused Russia of flouting a Kyiv-proposed ceasefire on Wednesday by carrying out dozens of battlefield assaults, air strikes and drone attacks.
Zelensky had floated the cessation, starting on 6 May, in response to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s own proposed ceasefire from 8 to 9 May to coincide with its Second World War victory commemorations.
In a statement, Zelensky said Russia – which did not confirm its adherence to Ukraine’s proposal – had committed 1,820 violations by late morning on Wednesday.
“Russia’s choice is an obvious spurning of a ceasefire and of saving lives,” he said. Speaking later in his nightly video address, Zelensky said Russia “has responded to the proposal only with new strikes and new attacks” and Ukraine would determine “our entirely justified responses”.
He said Ukraine was ready to work for peace but that “if the one person in Moscow who cannot live without war is interested only in a parade and nothing else, that is another matter”.
“Russia has fought to the point where even their main parade now depends on us,” he said.
Arpan Rai7 May 2026 04:37
Briefing: What we know on the 1,533rd day of Ukraine war
- Ukraine accused Russia of flouting a Kyiv-proposed ceasefire on Wednesday by carrying out dozens of battlefield assaults, air strikes and drone attacks.
- Russia has said it faces an increased threat of Ukrainian attacks and will hold a slimmed-down version of its annual Victory Day parade in Moscow this week without military hardware on display.
- Russia is warning diplomatic missions to evacuate staff promptly from Kyiv in the event of a mass strike by Moscow in response to any attempt by Ukraine to disrupt Victory Day commemorations.
Arpan Rai7 May 2026 04:33
