KYIV, Ukraine — Russian drone and missile strikes carried out overnight and later on Tuesday killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 80, Ukrainian authorities said, hours before Kyiv was due to enact a ceasefire and three days before Moscow promised its own pause in hostilities.
On Tuesday afternoon, powerful Russian glide bombs smashed into the eastern city of Kramatorsk, the southern city of Zaporizhzhia and the northern city of Chernihiv, killing at least 17 civilians and wounding 45 others, officials said. Attacks the previous night killed five people and wounded 39, according to authorities.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rebuked Moscow for what he called its “utter cynicism” in launching the attacks after Russia announced a unilateral ceasefire over two days later this week while it marks the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
“Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “Peace is needed, and real steps are needed to achieve it. Ukraine will act in kind.”
The Russian Defense Ministry declared a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine for Friday and Saturday, but said it would strike back if Ukraine tried to disrupt Victory Day festivities, which Russia marks annually on May 9. Zelenskyy said Ukraine would observe a ceasefire beginning at the end of Tuesday and would respond in kind to Russian actions from that moment; he did not set an end date.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the unilateral ceasefires and “looks forward to their successful implementation,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The U.N. chief reiterated his call for “a full, immediate, unconditional and lasting ceasefire, leading to a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace, in line with the U.N. Charter, international law and relevant U.N. resolutions.”
Moscow’s proposal follows a familiar pattern of Russia declaring short unilateral ceasefires timed to holidays, most recently Orthodox Easter. Those suspensions have produced little amid deep mistrust between Moscow and Kyiv more than four years after Russia launched an all-out invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the war have not succeeded.
Zelenskyy was in Bahrain on Tuesday and met with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, proposing a bilateral drone defense partnership amid the Iran war. He said he offered to share Ukraine’s air defense expertise with Bahrain, drawing parallels between Iranian attacks on Gulf states and Russia’s daily aerial strikes on Ukrainian territory, often using Shahed drones initially developed by Iran. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian officials are already helping Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan with drone expertise and air defense.
Russian forces fired 11 Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 164 strike drones at Ukraine overnight from Monday to Tuesday, including a jet-powered Shahed variant, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Air defenses stopped 149 drones and one missile, but others got through; two ballistic missiles failed to reach their targets, the air force added.
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the war. It hit natural gas production facilities in the central Poltava and northeastern Kharkiv regions, state energy company Naftogaz Group said. Since the start of the year, Naftogaz facilities have come under attack 107 times. Zelenskyy called the Poltava attack “especially vile,” saying Russia launched a second missile at the same target while emergency rescuers were working at the scene. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Russia’s main targets were energy facilities, oil and gas infrastructure, railways and industrial sites, though the strikes also damaged homes, businesses and the transport network. “Russia’s ceasefire proposals remain only statements,” she said.
Ukraine also continued long-range strikes on Russian rear areas, apparently aiming at oil facilities to disrupt Moscow’s war economy. Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces destroyed 289 Ukrainian drones overnight in 18 Russian regions, including over the occupied Crimean Peninsula and the Azov Sea.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine launched F-5 Flamingo cruise missiles at targets more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) away, including a military-industrial plant in Cheboksary that supplied navigation components for the Russian navy, the missile industry, aviation and armored vehicles. The Cheboksary regional health ministry said three people were wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack there. Ukrainian drones also struck the Kirishi oil refinery in the Leningrad region near St. Petersburg, sparking a blaze in the industrial zone; regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko said 29 Ukrainian drones were shot down during that attack and reported no casualties.
Ukraine doubled its midrange strikes on Russia in April compared with March and quadrupled them compared with February, according to a monthly report from Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Those midrange attacks focused on warehouses, command posts, air defenses and supply lines up to about 100 miles (160 kilometers) behind the front line. Fedorov also said Ukrainian ground robots completed 10,281 resupply and evacuation missions in April, an average of almost 343 per day. Those claims could not be independently verified.