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Russian attacks on northeastern Ukraine killed at least one person as the country’s air force issued several alerts for missile and bomb attacks, despite a unilateral ceasefire ordered by President Vladimir Putin.
“In the Sumy district, nighttime shelling sparked fires in three residential buildings. Firefighters worked from night through early morning to contain the blazes. Sadly, one civilian was killed in the attack,” Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said in a statement.
In the village of Bilopillya, near the Russian border, a woman trapped under rubble was rescued following overnight airstrikes, emergency officials added.
Putin’s 72-hour truce, declared to coincide with Russia’s Victory Day celebrations this week, has been dismissed as political theater by Ukrainian officials, who instead called for a 30-day ceasefire initially proposed by the United States in March.
Ukraine’s Air Force initially reported no missile or drone activity as of 8:00 a.m. local time Thursday, but said Russia had “intensified tactical airstrikes using guided aerial bombs” on Sumy overnight. Shortly after, the air force issued several air raid alerts for rocket and bomb attacks.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, accused Russia of “violating the ceasefire by attacking the Sumy region.” He also reported continued Russian attacks along the eastern front line and in the Kharkiv region, though Ukraine’s General Staff has not yet commented on those claims.
Russia’s Defense Ministry later on Thursday said that all of its troops “completely ceased combat operations and remained at their previously occupied lines and positions,” while also accusing Ukrainian forces of violating the ceasefire and trying to cross the border into Russia.
“Along the entire front line, Ukrainian units carried out 173 shelling attacks,” the Defense Ministry said. “A total of 488 violations of the ceasefire regime have been recorded.”
“The deliberate destructive actions of the Ukrainian side toward Russia confirm the Kiev regime’s intention to prevent a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” it added, warning that its forces “will respond in kind to violations.”
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne, citing multiple Ukrainian military units, reported that Kyiv had ordered its forces to return fire only if attacked during the May 8-10 ceasefire.
Suspilne reported that similar orders were given during last month’s Easter ceasefire, which was also announced unilaterally by Russia.
AFP contributed reporting.
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