Ukraine reports fresh strike hours before Kyiv’s ceasefire takes effect

The unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv was due to take effect on Wednesday but Ukraine accused Russia of new strikes just hours after attacks killed at least 28 people in cities across the warbattered nationRussian authorities did not immediately report any Ukrainian strikes several hours into the proposed truce while officials in Ukraines southern Zaporizhzhia region said early Wednesday that Moscow fired on their infrastructureMoscow and Kyiv each announced unilateral ceasefires over different dates this week with Russia demanding a pause to coincide with its annual World War II Victory Day commemorations on May 9Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of utter cynicism for launching deadly strikes while seeking a halt to hostilitiesUkraines Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said late Tuesday before Kyivs halt was due to take effect that authorities were dealing with the aftermath of Russian strikes in regions including Poltava Kharkiv Donetsk Dnipropetrovsk Zaporizhzhia Kherson Odesa Chernigiv and SumyAs of now 27 people have been killed and at least 120 injured as a result of todays Russian strikes across the country Klymenko saidA subsequent update from the eastern city of Kramatorsk added one more fatalityUkrainian drone strikes also killed five civilians according to an early Wednesday update from the head of the Crimea region which Russia annexed in 2014 from UkraineRussia attacked the city of Dnipro late on Tuesday nearing Kyivs deadlineWith mere hours until Ukraines ceasefire proposal comes into force Russia shows no signs of preparing to end hostilities On the contrary Moscow intensifies terror Ukraines Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiga said on XZelensky earlier described an attack that killed 12 people in Zaporizhzhia Ukraines southern city close to the front line as having absolutely no military justificationRussian strikes also hit the centre of Kramatorsk the last hub under Kyivs control in the embattled Donetsk regionSix people were killed according to an update by Kramatorsk citys military administration Oleksandr Goncharenko late Tuesday revising initial reports of five deadZelensky said that the attack on Kramatorsk hit right in the city centre targeting civiliansFour civilians were killed in Dnipro he saidThe attacks were the deadliest in weeks and peace efforts have gone quietYet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov according to the State DepartmentThe two who spoke at Lavrovs request discussed the USRussia relationship the RussiaUkraine war and Iran State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said without giving detailsRussia confirmed the call and noted they discussed the schedule of bilateral contacts but did not elaborateIntensifying strikesRussias May 9 parade is typically a bombastic display of military strength which since 2022 has sought to link Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with the invasion of UkraineBut the Kremlin ordered a scaledback version this year with no military hardware to be on display over the fear it could be targeted by UkraineMoscow also cut mobile internet throughout the Russian capital Tuesday morning ahead of the parade with operators reporting restrictions would last until SaturdayKyiv has intensified its retaliatory longrange strikes in recent weeks hitting a spate of Russian oil facilities and a luxury highrise building in MoscowIt calls the strikes fair retaliation for Russias nightly bombing of its cities with drones and missilesShortterm ceasefires are not infrequent with the two sides having suspended longrange attacks over Orthodox Easter last monthThere is no sign that the fouryear war is close to being resolved at the negotiating tableMoscow has demanded that Kyiv fully withdraws troops from the eastern Donbas area and renounces Western military support ultimatums seen as tantamount to capitulation in Kyiv which has rejected themThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever