Ukraine says Russia violated ceasefire initiated by Kyiv

Ukraine says Russia violated its unilateral ceasefire within hours of it taking effect at midnight local time on May 6, and later accused Moscow of thousands of violations by late morning.

Reuters reported that Russian strikes continued after the ceasefire began and said one person was killed and three others wounded in frontline areas in the north and east. Later in the day, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had violated the Kyiv-proposed ceasefire 1,820 times by 10 a.m. local time.

Ukraine had said in advance that the ceasefire would begin at midnight. Russia did not agree to that proposal, and instead has its own separate ceasefire planned for May 8-9 around Victory Day commemorations.

The competing claims underline how little trust remains between the two sides and how fragile any pause in fighting is likely to be. Moscow has also accused Ukraine of violations, leaving the two governments with different and conflicting accounts of the same period.

For now, the main immediate issue is whether the day’s violence eases or continues before Russia’s own pause is scheduled to begin.