Russia and Ukraine snub rival ceasefires ahead of Moscow's Victory Day parade

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - KYIV — Russia fired dozens of drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, disregarding a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv that began at midnight.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine hadn’t abided by its own ceasefire, saying its air defenses shot down 53 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea between Tuesday evening and dawn Wednesday.

Russian attacks killed at least people across Ukraine on Tuesday, including 12 in one of the deadliest strikes this year, hours before the midnight start of an open-ended ceasefire proposed by Kyiv.

After Russia launched further missile and drone attacks early Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow had clearly chosen to spurn Kyiv’s offer of a ceasefire.

Ukraine had announced its halt in fighting after Russia unilaterally declared its own ceasefire. Russia said it would hold a ceasefire on May 8 and 9 ahead of commemorations Saturday to mark the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. Russia’s Defense Ministry said any efforts by Ukraine to disrupt the Victory Day parade would prompt a “retaliatory, massive missile attack” on the center of Kyiv.

In response, Zelensky announced at the time an open-ended ceasefire to begin at midnight on Tuesday, saying Ukraine sought lasting peace, not a brief respite to coincide with Russia’s “celebration.”

Zelensky said Wednesday that Ukraine had “clearly stated that it would act in kind,” taking into account Russia’s “persistent appeals” for a ceasefire during Moscow’s Victory Day parade. Given that Moscow violated that ceasefire, Zelensky said Kyiv will soon “decide on further actions.”

In the hours before Tuesday’s slated midnight deadline, Russian attacks killed at least 27 people and wounded more than 120 others, according to Ihor Klymenko, Ukraine’s interior minister. Russia used 11 ballistic missiles and 154 drones in its attacks, Ukraine’s Air Force said.

In Zaporizhzhia alone, 12 civilians were killed in a single airstrike, Klymenko said, while four were killed in neighboring Dnipro.

Meanwhile, at least five people were killed and 37 wounded in a double-tap missile strike on a gas production facility in the Poltava region. Among those killed were two rescue workers who were responding to the initial strike, said Klymenko.

Russia’s strikes came as Ukraine on Tuesday launched a rare, long-range missile and drone attack, killing two people in Chuvashia region – more than 600 miles from the border. A further 34 people were wounded in the attack, including one child, according to state media RIA Novosti. The Chuvashia region declared a state of emergency following the attack.

Zelensky said the attack was aimed at several targets, “including military-industrial complex facilities” in Chuvashia. He added in a statement on social media that Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions continue to provide an entirely just response to Russian strikes.”

In total, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 289 drones launched by Ukraine overnight into Tuesday.

Ukraine’s demonstration of its ability to strike deep inside Russia comes as Moscow prepares to host its May 9 Victory Day parade. The event has been mired in security concerns and scaled back to no longer include displays of heavy weaponry, given the preponderance of cheap, modern drones in its four-year-old war against Ukraine.

People in Moscow have also been warned by telecoms operators and local banks that they could face restrictions on mobile internet and text messaging this week in the lead up to the parade.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously indicated that the threat and recent success of long-range Ukrainian strikes was one reason for additional security measures. The Kremlin has also ramped up personal security around President Vladimir Putin, according to a report from a European intelligence agency.