Russia Launches Intense Attacks in Eastern Ukraine Hours Before Ceasefire

Kyiv. Russia launched intense attacks in various regions of eastern Ukraine just hours before the proposed indefinite ceasefire by Ukraine was to come into effect. At least 27 people were killed in these attacks on Tuesday, with 12 losing their lives in a single attack, considered the deadliest of this year. Russia had announced a ceasefire for May 8 and 9 to target the military parade in Moscow's Red Square commemorating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. In response, Ukraine had proposed an indefinite ceasefire starting from Wednesday midnight and urged Russia to participate in it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made it clear that it would not be acceptable for Russia to stop attacking for just one day for its military parade and continue bombing Ukraine for the rest of the time. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on social media X, accusing Russia of showing no signs of peace. He wrote, 'Russia has shown no signs of ending hostilities just hours before the ceasefire proposed by Ukraine is to take effect. On the contrary, Moscow has intensified its terror.' Meanwhile, within minutes of the Ukrainian ceasefire deadline starting, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed head of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, claimed in a post on Telegram that five civilians were killed in the city of Zhankoi in a Ukrainian drone attack. However, it is estimated that this attack occurred before the ceasefire deadline, and there is no evidence of any new attacks immediately after the Ukrainian ceasefire began. Russian officials have paid little attention to Ukraine's ceasefire proposal. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin praised the soldiers fighting in Ukraine while congratulating the World War II veterans after midnight. He said that the current soldiers are as worthy as their ancestors and are defending the country. Rain of Bombs and Drones At least 12 people were killed and 20 injured in air bomb and drone attacks in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. According to regional governor Ivan Fedorov, residential buildings, a car repair center, and a car wash center were heavily damaged in this attack. A shop and other industries also caught fire. Rehina Kharchenko, secretary of the Zaporizhzhia City Council, called Russia's attack very cruel. She said, 'This is a very reprehensible attack on the facilities in the city of Zaporizhzhia, where four guided aerial bombs were dropped. Immediately after the bombing, the enemy deliberately targeted those same locations with Iranian-designed Shahed drones.' Similarly, in the frontline city of Kramatorsk in the northeastern region, three aerial bombs were dropped, killing 6 people and injuring 12. Four more people lost their lives in a Russian attack in Dnipro in southeastern Ukraine. President Zelensky wrote, 'These are completely cruel, senseless, and terrorist attacks with no military justification. Such Russian attacks on our cities and villages have not stopped for a single day.' In addition, five people, including a child from the neighboring Kharkiv region, were killed in a Russian attack on a gas production facility in the Poltava region, and six people were injured in an attack in the northern Sumy region. On the other hand, Russian state news agency TASS reported that two people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in Chuvashia, in the central part of Russia. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that its air defense units shot down 93 Ukrainian drones over Crimea and other Russian regions within a seven-hour period. Reuters