Ukraine accused Russia of violating a ceasefire that Kyiv said it initiated at midnight on Tuesday, May 6, with officials reporting continued Russian strikes, drone attacks, and frontline assaults hours after the proposed truce was meant to begin. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia “violated the ceasefire initiated by Ukraine at midnight between May 5th and 6th,” noting that Russian attacks continued through the night and included morning strikes on the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine would observe an open-ended “regime of silence” starting at 00:00 on the night of May 5 to May 6, and would “act symmetrically” from that moment, urging Russia to reciprocate. However, Ukrainian officials said Moscow did not confirm adherence to the proposal and instead launched 1,820 violations by late Wednesday morning, including two ballistic missiles, one cruise missile, and 108 drones since 6 p.m. local time the previous evening.
The attacks killed civilians in several regions. In the northern Sumy region, a Russian drone strike on a civilian car killed a passenger and wounded the driver, while another strike on a kindergarten caused damage, though children were not present. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, a drone attack damaged seven private buildings and left residents with acute stress reactions. Zaporizhzhia also reported damage to infrastructure and industrial sites. Zelensky described Russia’s actions as an “obvious spurning” of the ceasefire and of saving lives, adding that “peace is needed, and real steps are needed to achieve it.”
Kyiv’s truce proposal came in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s own declared ceasefire for May 8 to 9, timed to coincide with World War II Victory Day commemorations and a military parade in Moscow. Ukraine dismissed that short pause as “not serious,” with Zelensky saying it was not an option for Russia to halt strikes for one day for its parade while heavily bombarding Ukraine. Sybiha wrote on X that “this shows that Russia rejects peace and its fake calls for a ceasefire on May 9th have nothing to do with diplomacy,” adding that “Putin only cares about military parades, not human lives.”
The dueling announcements highlight deep mistrust as U.S.-backed peace talks remain stalled and Russia continues its offensive in Donetsk. Moscow, in turn, accused Ukraine of carrying out strikes overnight, with the Russia-appointed head of Crimea saying five people were killed by a drone strike in Dzhankoi just after midnight Wednesday. Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia has never opposed a ceasefire but claimed “the only obstacle to the ceasefire is Kyiv, which violates agreements.” Neither side has agreed to the other’s terms, leaving it unclear whether any pause in fighting will be observed this week.
