Ukrainian officials are reporting that Russian forces broke a ceasefire that began at midnight Wednesday, just hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initiated the temporary halt in fighting. The violations resulted in one fatality and three people injured in northern and eastern regions of the country.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha took to social media platform X to announce the breach, stating that “Russia violated the ceasefire initiated by Ukraine at midnight between May 5th and 6th.”
According to Sybiha, Russian military operations persisted overnight, including morning bombardments targeting Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. He characterized these actions as proof that “Russia rejects peace and its fake calls for a ceasefire on May 9th have nothing to do with diplomacy.”
The foreign minister also criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he “only cares about military parades, not human lives.”
Russia had previously declared its own temporary ceasefire for May 8-9, timed to align with celebrations marking the Soviet Union’s World War Two triumph over Nazi Germany and Moscow’s Red Square military parade.
Ukraine’s ceasefire proposal was open-ended, beginning at midnight Wednesday (2100 GMT), with Kyiv calling on Russia to match their actions. Zelenskyy indicated Ukraine would respond “symmetrically” moving forward.
Ukrainian air defense systems detected multiple threats after the ceasefire began, with officials reporting that Russia fired two ballistic missiles, one cruise missile, and 108 drones at Ukrainian territory starting at 6 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on Wednesday.
The casualties came from a Russian drone strike on a civilian vehicle in the northern Sumy region, where a passenger died and the driver was injured, according to regional leadership.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Russian drone attacks caused damage to seven residential properties. Local officials reported that one woman experienced severe stress reactions and another person required medical care.
The southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, which suffered 12 deaths in Tuesday’s attack, saw Russian forces target industrial infrastructure early Wednesday, regional authorities confirmed.
Kryvyi Rih also came under morning drone assault, causing infrastructure damage but no reported casualties, according to local military administrators.
Prior to the ceasefire deadline, Russia conducted multiple strikes across Ukraine on Tuesday, killing at least 27 people, Ukrainian officials reported.
