Russia Attacks Kindergarten After Ignoring Ukraine Ceasefire, Zelensky Says

Russia ignored Ukraine’s unilateral ceasefire and attacked a kindergarten, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused, as a wave of drone attacks hit several cities. In the Sumy border region, one woman was killed when a kindergarten was hit on Wednesday morning, local authorities said, with no children present at the time. Zelensky said Russia carried out "active hostilities and terrorist shelling", targeting front-line areas and firing dozens of drones and missiles at civilian areas. The BBC also reported that rival unilateral ceasefires were announced by both sides without agreement on terms, length, or monitoring, with Kyiv’s open-ended ceasefire starting from midnight on Tuesday.

“Russia has fired dozens of drones at Ukraine in night-time attacks, Ukrainian officials say, disregarding a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv that began at midnight”

AAP News

Ukraine accused Russia of violating a ceasefire initiated by Kyiv overnight, with Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha saying on X that "Russia violated the ceasefire initiated by Ukraine at midnight between May 5th and 6th". Ukraine’s air force said the morning attack involved at least 89 Russian drones as well as ballistic missiles, with hits confirmed in eight different locations, and warned that the attack continues as there are “several enemy UAVs in the airspace”. The Independent reported that at least 27 people were killed in Russian strikes throughout eastern Ukraine in the hours leading up to the start of the ceasefire at midnight (Tuesday 10pm BST). In parallel, the BBC said Zelensky stated that Russia’s choice was "an obvious spurning of a ceasefire and of saving lives" and that Ukraine would "decide on our further actions" based on evening reports from its military and intelligence.

As Moscow prepared to host its May 9 Victory Day parade, the BBC reported that authorities had announced the event would be a pared-down version due to the "terrorist threat" from Kyiv. The Kremlin threatened a "massive missile strike" on central Kyiv if Ukraine violates Russia’s unilateral 8-9 May truce, while Ukraine said it would act "symmetrically" from its own ceasefire start. The Independent framed the dispute as a continuation of strikes, reporting that Ukraine’s air force said the attack involved at least 89 Russian drones and ballistic missiles across multiple locations. In the same reporting stream, the BBC noted that residents of Moscow and St Petersburg had been warned their mobile internet access would be disrupted for security reasons, and that the Kremlin has long been concerned with sheltering the Russian population from the conflict.

“Russia and Ukraine have declared competing unilateral ceasefires in their four-year war”

Al Jazeera