Over 20 Killed in Russian Strikes on Ukraine as Both Sides Announce Unilateral Ceasefires

Russian attacks killed more than 20 people across Ukraine on Tuesday, just ahead of unilateral ceasefires announced separately by Moscow and Kyiv. Overnight combined missile and drone strikes had already killed five people and injured dozens across the country.

Authorities in Zaporizhzhia reported 12 people killed in a Russian aerial attack there, which President Volodymyr Zelensky described as a 'cynical terrorist strike'.

Zelensky said five people were killed in Kramatorsk and four in Dnipro during the assaults. In Russia, authorities in the Chuvash Republic said two people were killed and 32 injured in a drone attack on Tuesday morning. These strikes unfolded as both nations positioned for pauses in fighting tied to Russia's Victory Day commemorations.

Russia declared a unilateral ceasefire on 8 and 9 May ahead of those Victory Day events, threatening a 'massive missile strike' on central Kyiv if Ukraine violated the truce. Kyiv announced its own open-ended ceasefire from midnight on 6 May, stating that Ukraine would act 'symmetrically' after Moscow's pause. The two ceasefires are unilateral, with no agreement on terms, length, or monitoring.

Kyrylo Budanov said that if the ceasefire announced by the Ukrainian president was reciprocated, 'we will continue to observe it... The next move is Russia's'. Zelensky urged Russia to lay down arms and 'move to real diplomacy'.

Ahead of its midnight ceasefire on Wednesday (Tuesday 22:00 GMT), Ukraine launched aerial attacks on Russia, hitting an industrial area in Kirishi in the Leningrad region. Ukraine also struck a factory that produces military components in Cheboksary, in the Chuvash Republic.

Zelensky said domestically-produced Flamingo cruise missiles were used to strike the Cheboksary factory, 1,500km (930 miles) from the front line.

The Russian defence ministry confirmed it had downed six Ukrainian Flamingos and 601 drones. Several airports across Russia were temporarily shut on Tuesday morning. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that a number of drones had been downed near the capital.

The Kremlin scaled down the 9 May military parade on Red Square due to the 'terrorist threat' from Ukraine. No heavy military hardware would be on display at the 9 May parade. Muscovites were warned that mobile internet access would be disrupted or cut off for several days in the lead-up to 9 May.

Zelensky said the fact Russia felt it couldn't 'hold a parade in Moscow without the goodwill of Ukraine' to observe a ceasefire meant that it was time for Russian leaders to 'take steps to end their war'. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.