Russian Strikes Kill Ukrainian Civilians Hours Before Moscow’s Proposed Ceasefire

Vladimir Putin moved forward with Russia’s Victory Day ceasefire proposal after missile and drone strikes killed at least 27 people across Ukraine, including rescue workers and civilians.

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Hours before Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day ceasefire was set to begin, Russian strikes killed civilians and rescue workers across Ukraine while Moscow warned Kyiv of “massive” retaliation.

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Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least 27 people across Ukraine on Tuesday, hours before the planned start of rival ceasefire proposals surrounding Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations, as Kyiv and the Kremlin accused each other of undermining efforts to pause the war.

The attacks killed civilians across multiple regions, including 12 people in Zaporizhzhia alone, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. More than 120 others were wounded nationwide.

The bombardment unfolded just before the midnight start of an open-ended ceasefire proposed by Ukraine after Russia announced its own temporary halt in fighting ahead of annual Victory Day commemorations marking the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

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Russia said it would suspend combat operations on May 8 and 9 during ceremonies surrounding the military holiday, one of the Kremlin’s most symbolically important public events of the year. Moscow also warned Ukraine against disrupting the celebrations.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said any attempt to target the parade or related events would trigger a “retaliatory, massive missile attack” against central Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected what he described as a narrowly timed ceasefire tied to Russia’s “celebration,” announcing instead that Ukraine would begin its own open-ended halt in fighting at midnight Tuesday.

But after Russian missile and drone attacks continued into Wednesday morning, Zelensky accused Moscow of violating its own proposed truce almost immediately.

“Ukraine clearly stated that it would act in kind,” Zelensky said Wednesday, referring to Russia’s repeated calls for a ceasefire during the Victory Day events. He added that Kyiv would soon “decide on further actions.”

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Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 11 ballistic missiles and 154 drones during the latest wave of attacks.

Among the deadliest incidents was a strike on Zaporizhzhia that Ukrainian officials said killed 12 civilians. Four more people were killed in neighboring Dnipro, while another attack on a gas-production facility in the Poltava region killed at least five people and wounded dozens more.

Two rescue workers responding to the initial strike were killed in what Ukrainian officials described as a “double-tap” attack, a tactic in which a second strike hits emergency crews arriving at a scene.

At the same time, Ukraine launched strikes deep inside Russian territory.

Russian officials said Ukrainian missile and drone attacks hit the Chuvashia region, more than 600 miles from the Ukrainian border, killing two people and wounding 34 others, including a child, according to Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.

Regional authorities declared a state of emergency after the attack.

Zelensky later said Ukrainian strikes targeted facilities connected to Russia’s military-industrial complex, calling the operation a justified response to continued Russian bombardments.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its forces intercepted 289 Ukrainian drones overnight, though those battlefield claims could not be independently verified.

The escalating exchanges come as Moscow prepares for Friday’s Victory Day parade, an event increasingly shaped by wartime security concerns and the growing threat posed by long-range Ukrainian drone attacks.

In recent months, Ukrainian strikes have reached targets hundreds of miles inside Russia, raising new questions about the effectiveness of Moscow’s air-defense systems and prompting the Kremlin to expand security measures around major political events.

CNN reported that telecom operators and banks in Moscow warned residents they could experience restrictions on mobile internet and text messaging services during the lead-up to the parade. Rolling internet outages and expanded communications restrictions have become increasingly common across Russia since March.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously acknowledged that long-range Ukrainian strikes were one reason for expanded security measures.

CNN also reported that the Kremlin had increased personal security around Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing a report from a European intelligence agency.

The intensifying strikes underscore how both Russia and Ukraine continue using symbolic political moments to demonstrate resolve and military capability while simultaneously accusing the other side of sabotaging efforts to pause the war.

Nearly four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, ceasefire proposals have increasingly become instruments of political signaling as much as genuine attempts to halt the fighting.

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References

1. CNN — Original battlefield and ceasefire reporting

Role: Primary reporting source / canonical reporting chain

Lauren Kent, Anna Chernova and Daria Tarasova-Markina | Russian strikes kill 27 in Ukraine ahead of rival ceasefires around Moscow’s Victory Day parade
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/05/europe/russia-strike-before-victory-day-parade-intl

Note: Foundational reporting source underlying the article’s central claims regarding Russian missile and drone strikes, casualty figures, ceasefire proposals, Zelensky statements and heightened Victory Day security concerns in Moscow. (The Guardian)

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2. Ukrainian Interior Ministry — Casualty and emergency reporting

Role: Primary Ukrainian government source

Ihor Klymenko | Official Telegram channel of Ukraine’s Interior Minister
https://t.me/Klymenko_MVS

Note: Primary source for casualty totals, emergency-response updates and strike reporting referenced throughout the article, including statements regarding Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and the Poltava “double-tap” strike that killed rescue workers.

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3. Russian Defense Ministry — Ceasefire and retaliation statements

Role: Primary Russian military/government source

Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation | Official Telegram Channel
https://t.me/mod_russia

Note: Official Russian Defense Ministry communication channel used for operational updates, ceasefire statements, drone-interception claims and military announcements referenced throughout the article, including warnings tied to Victory Day security measures.

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4. President of Ukraine — Zelensky public statements

Role: Primary political statement source

Volodymyr Zelensky | Official Telegram Channel
https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official

Note: Primary source for statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding ceasefire proposals, Russian attacks and Ukrainian long-range strikes targeting Russian military-industrial facilities.

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5. RIA Novosti — Chuvashia strike reporting

Role: Russian state-media reporting source

RIA Novosti | Official homepage

https://ria.ru

Note: Russian state-media outlet cited by CNN for casualty figures, injuries and emergency declarations connected to Ukrainian strikes in Russia’s Chuvashia region. Specific wartime updates referenced in the article were published through RIA Novosti’s live regional and defense reporting feeds.