A ceasefire unilaterally declared by Kyiv was set to begin on Wednesday, but Ukrainian officials reported fresh Russian attacks just hours after a wave of strikes killed at least 28 people across the country.
While Russian authorities did not immediately acknowledge any Ukrainian assaults following the proposed truce, officials in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region said early Wednesday that Russian forces had targeted infrastructure in the area.
Both Moscow and Kyiv had separately announced temporary ceasefires on differing timelines this week. Russia has called for a pause in fighting to align with its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations on May 9.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Moscow’s actions, accusing it of “utter cynicism” for continuing attacks while proposing a halt in hostilities.
Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said late Tuesday, shortly before Kyiv’s ceasefire was due to take effect, that emergency services were responding to widespread strikes in regions including Poltava, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Odessa, Chernigiv and Sumy.
“As of now, 27 people have been killed and at least 120 injured as a result of today’s Russian strikes across the country,” Klymenko said.
An updated report from Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine later confirmed one additional death.
Meanwhile, authorities in Crimea—annexed by Russia in 2014—reported that Ukrainian drone strikes killed five civilians, according to the regional head early Wednesday.
Russian forces also launched an attack on the city of Dnipro late Tuesday, close to the deadline for Kyiv’s ceasefire.
“With mere hours until Ukraine’s ceasefire proposal comes into force, Russia shows no signs of preparing to end hostilities. On the contrary, Moscow intensifies terror,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiga said on X.
Zelenskyy earlier described a strike in the frontline city of Zaporizhzhia, which killed 12 people, as having “absolutely no military justification”.
In Kramatorsk, the last major city in the Donetsk region under Kyiv’s control, Russian strikes hit the central area.
Oleksandr Goncharenko, head of the city’s military administration, said late Tuesday that six people had been killed, revising earlier figures.
Zelenskyy said the Kramatorsk strike “hit right in the city centre, targeting civilians”.
He also confirmed that four civilians were killed in Dnipro.
The latest wave of violence marks one of the deadliest periods in recent weeks, as diplomatic efforts appear to have stalled.
However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone conversation Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, according to the State Department.
The call, initiated at Lavrov’s request, covered “the US-Russia relationship, the Russia-Ukraine war, and Iran,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, without providing further details.
Russian officials confirmed the discussion, noting it addressed the “schedule of bilateral contacts,” though no additional information was released.
