Russian strikes kill at least five in Ukraine ahead of rival ceasefires

Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine's power grid overnight killed at least five people and wounded 39 others, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The attacks were reported on Tuesday, less than a day before Kyiv said it would enact a ceasefire and three days before Moscow promised its own pause in hostilities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of "utter cynicism" for launching deadly strikes while also seeking a truce to stage its Victory Day parade in Moscow.

The timing has sharpened attention on the competing ceasefire announcements, which were made on different dates this week.

The strikes also underline the continuing vulnerability of Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the war.

The latest attack wave was described as targeting the power grid, but the supplied material does not give a full breakdown of the locations hit or the extent of damage.

It also does not say whether the ceasefire announcements have changed military activity on the ground beyond the overnight strikes.

The incident comes amid the wider Russia-Ukraine conflict, in which both sides have continued to trade attacks while also making periodic public statements about temporary pauses in fighting.

Zelensky's comments focused on the contrast between the strikes and Moscow's stated plans for a Victory Day truce, but no further official response was included in the supplied material.

What remains unclear is the full scale of the damage to the power system, the identities of those killed, and whether either side will alter its ceasefire plans in response to the attacks.

#Ukraine #Russia #VolodymyrZelensky #dronestrikes #missilestrikes