DSNS Ukraine
Russia’s unilateral, three-day ceasefire has proved to be a farce because of continued attacks across the front line, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, has said.
He accused Russia of 734 violations since its truce came into effect overnight into Thursday, adding that Ukraine was responding “appropriately” to every attack.
Russia’s defence ministry insisted the ceasefire – called by Vladimir Putin to mark World War Two Victory Day – was being observed and accused Ukraine of 488 violations.
At least one person was killed in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region following Russian strikes, according to emergency services.
Ukraine’s air force said there had been no drone or missile strikes in its airspace overnight as of 08:00 (05:00 GMT) on Thursday, although Russia had intensified strikes using air-launched glide bombs in the Sumy area.
Buildings were hit in a residential area of Bilopillia, a town in Sumy just south of the Russian border. Rescuers freed a woman trapped under the rubble, emergency services said.
Ukrainian military spokesman Viktor Trehubov said there had also been Russian military assaults in several eastern areas after the Russian ceasefire officially came into force at midnight Moscow time (21:00 GMT on Wednesday).
Kyiv has rejected Russia’s truce, with Volodymyr Zelensky calling it a “theatrical show” designed to protect the Moscow Victory Day parade on Friday. The Ukrainian president has reiterated calls for a longer truce of at least 30 days.
A temporary 30-hour ceasefire was announced by the Kremlin over Easter which saw a decrease in fighting but claims of hundreds of breaches from both sides.
The Kremlin has described its pause as a “test of Ukraine’s readiness for peace”, although Putin earlier rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional ceasefire.
Russia’s defence ministry said all groups of Russian forces in Ukraine had “completely ceased combat operations and remained on the previously occupied lines and positions”. However, they were reacting in a “mirror-like manner” to violations by Ukrainian forces.
Reacting to the bombardment of the Sumy region, Sviatoslav Yurash, a Ukrainian MP and serving soldier, accused Moscow of lying.
“We don’t want a peace that breaks apart in no time, and Russia takes another attempt to try and kill us and destroy us,” he told the BBC.
Sergey Sanovich of Stanford University told the BBC the Russian truce was not meant as a gesture of goodwill to Ukrainians but rather to maintain interest in peace talks with the US.
Since his inauguration in January, President Donald Trump has sought to end the war in Ukraine by mediating with both parties – but he has been accused of trying to pressure Ukraine into making painful concessions to secure a peace deal.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and currently controls about 20% of Ukraine’s territory, including the southern Crimea peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
For three consecutive days ahead of Russia’s proposed truce, Kyiv and Moscow exchanged a barrage of strikes.
The Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday that 524 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed over the past 24 hours – a record number if confirmed. No casualties were reported but flights at Russian airports were suspended, causing disruption to some 60,000 passengers.
Sergey Sanovich told the BBC the Ukrainian drone strikes were an indication that Kyiv was not interested in “peace out of desperation”.
On the eve of Victory Day in Moscow, China’s Xi Jinping met Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin to sign an updated investment deal. Xi said the two countries’ ties had injected “positive energy” into a world in turmoil.
The Chinese president is one of a reported 27 leaders due to attend Russia’s commemorations in Moscow’s Red Square.
Ahead of the event, Ukraine warned it could not guarantee the safety of anyone attending the parade.
Andrei Fedorov, a former Russian deputy foreign minister, told the BBC that “Russia is seriously concerned about the possibility of attack by Ukrainian drones”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian military and special services were taking “all necessary measures” to ensure the celebration takes place “in a calm, stable and peaceful atmosphere,” including jamming mobile internet connections ahead of the parade.
Unlike Russia, the rest of Europe celebrates Victory in Europe (VE) Day on 8 May. Commemorations this year mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Zelensky released a video address on Thursday, where he was seen walking through central Kyiv and paying his respects to fallen Ukrainian soldiers at a large display of Ukrainian flags.
He said Ukraine was marking Victory Day along with all those who had fought to ensure evil would lose and and would be “never again”.
“Unfortunately, three years ago, it happened again and just like before the air raid siren roared over Kyiv,” he said.
Deriding Russia’s celebration as a “parade of cynicism”, he warned that evil had to be fought “resolutely, with force”.
