Russia and Ukraine trade drone strikes as ceasefire effort collapses amid overnight attacks
Russia launched a wave of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said, even as Kyiv’s unilateral ceasefire took effect at midnight and appeared to be ignored on both sides.
Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces fired 108 drones and three missiles during the night, with strikes continuing into Wednesday morning. Officials said the attacks caused civilian casualties across multiple regions, including a strike in the northeastern city of Sumy that hit a kindergarten building and killed a security guard. No children were present at the time.
Russia, meanwhile, accused Ukraine of violating the ceasefire as well, claiming its air defenses intercepted 53 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, Crimea, and the Black Sea between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.
In Russian-occupied Crimea, local authorities said a Ukrainian drone strike on the city of Dzhankoi killed five people. Officials there said the casualties were reported shortly after midnight, though initial information about the attack surfaced earlier.
There was no indication from Moscow that it intended to observe the ceasefire announced by Kyiv, and fighting continued across multiple fronts in what has become a grinding, long-range exchange of drone and artillery strikes in the war’s fifth year.
Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks over the past several days have intensified, with hundreds of civilian casualties reported in recent days as strikes hit numerous regions. International monitors have also warned of a sharp rise in civilian harm and widespread geographic spread of the attacks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s continued strikes show a clear rejection of efforts to halt the fighting, calling the attacks further evidence that Moscow is not interested in saving lives or moving toward peace. He urged increased diplomatic and economic pressure on Russia, along with stronger international support for Ukraine.
The ceasefire attempt came after Russia floated its own short pause in hostilities tied to upcoming commemorations marking World War II. Previous temporary ceasefires during the war have failed to hold, with both sides routinely accusing each other of violations.
Despite the latest diplomatic signals, fighting continues along the roughly 800-mile front line, where Russian forces and Ukrainian defenses remain locked in a costly and attritional struggle driven heavily by drones and long-range strikes.
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