Ukraine accuses Russia of breaking own truce after attacks on Sumy

Ukraine has accused Russia of breaking its own unilaterally declared three-day ceasefire hours after it began.

Ukraine’s air force said on Thursday that Russian aircraft launched guided bombs on the Sumy region of northern Ukraine three times after midnight local time (21:00 GMT), when Vladimir Putin’s May 8-10 ceasefire entered into force.

A Ukrainian military spokesman cited by news agency Reuters said a 55-year-old woman had been killed in the attacks on Sumy. Regional rescuers said on Telegram on Thursday that “night shelling” had caused fires to break out in three residential buildings, killing a “civilian” without specifying the exact time when it had occurred.

“Predictably, Putin’s ‘Parade ceasefire’ proves to be a farce,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X on Thursday, referring to a planned May 9 parade on Moscow’s Red Square to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory – along with other Allied countries – over Nazi Germany in World War II.

“Russian forces continue to attack across the entire frontline,” Sybiha wrote. “From midnight to midday, Russia committed 734 ceasefire violations and 63 assault operations, 23 of which are still ongoing.”

The Russian Defence Ministry, cited by Interfax news agency, said that Ukraine, in turn, had carried out 488 attacks on Russian targets and twice tried to break through the border in the Kursk region.

The Kremlin has claimed the brief ceasefire, aimed at pausing hostilities during the high-profile WWII commemoration, will “test” Kyiv’s readiness for peace but Ukraine has slammed it as a farce.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has not committed to abide by the truce, insisted on Wednesday that his country stood by its offer to observe a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia.

“We are not withdrawing this proposal, which could give diplomacy a chance,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. Russia, he said, had made no response to the 30-day offer except for new strikes.

The United States, which has placed both countries under pressure to make peace, proposed the 30-day ceasefire in March, but Moscow said the measure could only be introduced after mechanisms to enforce and uphold it are put in place, later proposing the three-day truce as a “humanitarian” gesture.

Military parade

Apart from the three attacks on Sumy with guided bombs, there were no reports in Ukraine of any Russian long-range drones or missiles being launched on Ukrainian cities after the Kremlin-sponsored ceasefire kicked in at midnight, Ukraine’s air force said on Thursday.

But Ukraine declared an air alert in its seven eastern regions, stating that there is a danger of Russia using ballistic missiles despite the Kremlin’s ceasefire, the air force added.

The Kremlin has said Russian forces will honour Putin’s order for the duration of the holiday, but will respond “immediately” if Ukraine launches any fire.

As part of the anniversary events, Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders in Moscow and will review a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square on May 9.

Hours before Putin’s order was scheduled to enter force, Moscow and Kyiv staged aerial attacks, prompting airport closures in Russia and killing at least two people in Ukraine.

In Wednesday’s video address, Zelenskyy also appeared to acknowledge Ukraine’s targeting of Russian sites as the World War II commemorations approached.

“It is absolutely fair that Russian skies, the skies of the aggressor, are also not calm today, in a mirror-like way,” he said.

On Thursday, the Ukrainian leader marked the day by taking a rare walk in central Kyiv to pay his respects to fallen Ukrainian soldiers at a vast mound of Ukrainian flags planted on the city’s central square.

He described Putin’s May 9 Parade as “a parade of bile and lies. As if not dozens of allied states, but Putin personally defeated Nazism”.