DSNSUKRAIN
Emergency services in Sammy’s Bilopiria town say one civilian was killed in an early morning Russian attack
Russia’s one-sided three-day ceasefire has proven to be a farce due to its continued attacks that cross the frontline, Ukrainian foreign minister Andri Sibikha said.
He accused Russia of 734 violations since it came into effect overnight on Thursday, adding that Ukraine is responding “appropriately” to any attack.
The Russian Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of 488 violations and claimed a ceasefire called by Vladimir Putin to mark the day of World War I victory.
At least one person has been killed in Ukraine’s North Smie region after the Russian strike, according to emergency services.
The Ukrainian Air Force said there were no overnight drone and missile strikes in the airspace as of 08:00 (05:00 GMT) on Thursday, but Russia has strengthened the strike using air-rank glide bombs from the Smie region.
The building was attacked by a residential area in Bilopiria, the town of Smie, just south of the Russian border. The rescuer released the woman trapped under the roof rubber, emergency services said.
Ukrainian Army spokesman Victor Trevbov said that Russian military attacks also occurred in several eastern regions after the Russian ceasefire was officially implemented at the time of Midnight Moscow (21:00 GMT on Wednesday).
Kiev refused to have a Russian ceasefire and there will be Voldy Mie Zelensky, known as the “Theatre Show,” designed to protect the Moscow Victory Day parade on Friday. The Ukrainian president has repeatedly called for a long ceasefire for at least 30 days.
A temporary 30-hour ceasefire has been announced by the Kremlin over Easter. Easter saw a decrease in combat, but hundreds of violations from both sides were alleged.
The Kremlin described the suspension as “a test of preparation for peace in Ukraine,” but Putin previously rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional ceasefire.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that all groups of Ukrainian Russian forces had “fully stopped combat operations and remained in previously occupied lines and positions.” However, they were responding to violations by the Ukrainian military in a “mirror-like way.”
He accused Moscow of lying in response to the bombing of Svyatoslav Yurash, a Ukrainian Parliamentary and serving soldier.
“We don’t want peace that will fall apart anytime soon, and Russia is making another attempt to kill us and destroy us,” he told the BBC.
Sergei Sanovic of Stanford University told the BBC that Russia’s ceasefire was intended to maintain interest in peace negotiations with the United States, not as a good-willed gesture for the Ukrainians.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has tried to end the war in Ukraine by mediating with both political parties, but he has been accused of trying to pressure Ukraine to make painful concessions to secure a peace deal.
Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory, including the Southern Crimea Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
For three consecutive days after Russia’s proposed ceasefire, Kiev and Moscow traded barrages of strikes.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that 524 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed over the past 24 hours. No casualties have been reported, but flights at Russian airports have been suspended, causing disruption to around 60,000 passengers.
Sergei Sanovic told the BBC that the strike of the Ukrainian drone is a sign that he is not interested in “peace from despair.”
On the eve of the day of victory in Moscow, Chinese Xi Jinping met Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin and signed an updated investment agreement. Xi said the bonds between the two countries injected “positive energy” into a world of chaos.
The Chinese president is one of the 27 leaders reported to attend Russia’s memorial in Moscow’s Red Square.
Prior to the event, Ukraine warned that it could not guarantee the safety of those participating in the parade.
“Russia is seriously concerned about the possibility of a Ukrainian drone attack,” former Russian deputy minister Andrei Fedorov told the BBC.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian troops and special services are taking “all necessary measures” to ensure the celebration is held in a “serene, stable and peaceful atmosphere” including blocking mobile internet connections before the parade.
Unlike Russia, the rest of Europe celebrates its victory on Europe (VE) Day on May 8th. This year’s commemoration marks the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Zelensky released its video address on Thursday. There he walked through the heart of Kiev and saw him paying homage to Ukrainian soldiers who fell on a large display of Ukrainian flags.
He said that Ukraine is marking a victory day with all those who fought to ensure evil.
“Unfortunately, three years ago, it happened again, and just like before the sirens from the air raids roared over Kiev,” he said.
Deceiving Russia’s blessing as a “parade of irony,” he warned that evil must be fought “with determination and with force.”
