Ukraine says Russian strikes continued throughout night despite unilateral ceasefire

Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of violating a unilateral ceasefire it announced earlier this week that took effect at midnight, with overnight and morning airstrikes reported.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha claimed that more than 100 drones and three missiles had been launched against his country in the hours since the ceasefire went into effect.

"Russian attacks with the use of 108 drones and three missiles continued throughout the night, including morning strikes on Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia," he said in a statement on US social media company X.

Sybiha criticized Moscow for ignoring Ukraine's call for a cessation of hostilities and urged international partners to step up pressure on Russia, including through sanctions.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared in a statement on X that Kyiv would observe a ceasefire starting at midnight Tuesday (2100 GMT).

His announcement followed a Russian proposal to halt combat activities on May 8-9 on the occasion of Victory Day celebrations. The proposal was made during a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on April 29.

Commenting on Russia's proposal, Zelenskyy said no official request had been made to Ukraine regarding the truce, without specifying whether Kyiv had made an official request to Moscow about its own proposal.

Also on Monday, speaking at the Eighth European Political Community Summit in Armenia, Zelenskyy threatened that Ukrainian drones could fly into the Victory Day military parade in Moscow.

Commenting on the strikes, Zelenskyy said on X that the assaults represent an "obvious spurning" of Ukraine's unilateral ceasefire.

Zelenskyy claimed that Russia committed 1,820 violations of the ceasefire, adding: "Based on the evening reports from our military and intelligence, we will decide on our further actions."