Ukrainian officials said Russian glide bombs killed at least 12 people in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday after striking a car repair shop and residential buildings in one of the deadliest attacks on the city this year.
Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said another 20 people were injured in the attack, reports Al Jazeera.
In the eastern city of Kramatorsk, six people were killed and 12 others wounded, while four more deaths were reported in Dnipro.
Russian strikes also targeted state-run gas facilities in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions overnight, killing three employees and two rescue workers, according to Naftogaz Chief Executive Officer Serhiy Koretskyi.
Koretskyi said the facilities suffered major damage and production losses in the combined drone and ballistic missile attack, which also disrupted gas supplies to nearly 3,500 customers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of cynicism for announcing a ceasefire while continuing missile and drone attacks.
“These are absolutely cynical, senseless terrorist strikes devoid of any military sense,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
Russia announced the ceasefire for May 8 and 9 to coincide with Victory Day commemorations marking the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Ukraine responded by proposing an open-ended ceasefire from midnight on Wednesday and urged Moscow to do the same.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 11 ballistic missiles and 164 drones since Monday evening. It said one missile and 149 drones were intercepted or neutralised, but eight missiles and 14 drones hit 14 locations.
Meanwhile, Russian-installed authorities in Crimea said a Ukrainian drone strike killed five civilians in Dzhankoi.
Officials in Russia’s Chuvash Republic also reported two deaths and at least 32 injuries in another drone attack, with authorities declaring a state of emergency.
Ukraine also targeted one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in Kirishi in the Leningrad region, sparking a fire at the facility, regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko said.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defence units intercepted 93 Ukrainian drones over Crimea and several Russian regions within seven hours ending at 6pm GMT on Tuesday.
