The unilateral ceasefire announced by Kiev was due to take effect on Wednesday, but Ukraine accused Russia of new strikes just hours after attacks killed at least 28 people in cities across the war-battered nation.
Russian authorities did not immediately report any Ukrainian strikes several hours into the proposed truce, while officials in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region said early on Wednesday that Moscow fired on their infrastructure.
Moscow and Kiev each announced unilateral ceasefires over different dates this week, with Russia demanding a pause to coincide with its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations on May 9.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of “utter cynicism” for launching deadly strikes while seeking a halt to hostilities.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said late on Tuesday, before Kiev’s halt was due to take effect, that authorities were dealing with the aftermath of Russian 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.
A subsequent update from the eastern city of Kramatorsk added one more fatality.
Ukrainian drone strikes also killed five civilians, according to an early Wednesday update from the head of the Crimea region, which Russia annexed in 2014 from Ukraine.
Russia attacked the city of Dnipro late on Tuesday, nearing Kiev’s deadline.
“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.
