Ukraine says Russia violated ceasefire initiated by Kyiv

Ukraine accused Russia of violating a ceasefire initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at midnight on Wednesday, with officials reporting one person killed and three wounded in frontline areas in the north and east of the country.

"Russia violated the ceasefire initiated by Ukraine at midnight between May 5th and 6th," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.

Sybiha said Russian attacks continued throughout the night, including morning strikes on the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. "This shows that Russia rejects peace and its fake calls for a ceasefire on May 9th have nothing to do with diplomacy," he said on X.

Russian President Vladimir Putin "only cares about military parades, not human lives," Sybiha added.

Russia announced a ceasefire for May 8 to 9 to coincide with commemorations of the Soviet Union's victory over Germany in World War II and a military parade in Moscow's Red Square.

Ukraine announced its own proposal for an open-ended ceasefire starting at midnight on Wednesday (2100 GMT), urging Russia to reciprocate. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would act "symmetrically" from that point on.

Ukraine's air force had issued several warnings of drones and guided aerial bombs launches after midnight. It said on Wednesday that Russia had launched two ballistic missiles, one cruise missile and 108 drones at the country since 6 pm local time (1500 GMT).

A Russian drone attack on Wednesday morning on a civilian car in the northern Sumy region killed a passenger and wounded the driver, the regional governor said.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, a Russian drone attack damaged seven private buildings, the city's mayor said early on Wednesday. One woman suffered from an acute stress reaction and one more person has sought medical attention, the regional governor said.

In the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, where an attack on Tuesday killed 12 people, Russian forces attacked an industrial infrastructure facility, the regional governor reported early on Wednesday.

The city of Kryvyi Rih came under a morning drone attack, which damaged infrastructure, the local military administration head said, reporting no injuries in the attack.

Russia launched several attacks in Ukraine on Tuesday, hours before the deadline for Kyiv's ceasefire offer, killing at least 27, Ukrainian officials said.