Russia dismisses Ukraine's unilateral ceasefire, launches over 100 drones overnight

Russia launched more than 100 drones and several missiles at Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian officials said on 6 May, hours after Kyiv’s unilateral ceasefire came into effect at midnight.

The attacks signalled Moscow’s refusal to observe the temporary truce announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of Russia’s planned Victory Day ceasefire later this week.

Ukraine says Russia ignored ceasefire

According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian forces fired 108 drones and three missiles during the night, with strikes continuing into Wednesday morning.

Andrii Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister said Moscow had ignored international calls to halt hostilities.

“Moscow once again ignored a realistic and fair call to end hostilities,” Sybiha said in a post on X.

He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of caring “only about military parades, not human lives”.

Moscow accuses Kyiv of violations

Russia’s Defence Ministry, however, claimed Ukraine itself violated the ceasefire and said Russian air defences had intercepted 53 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the annexed Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

Sergei Aksyonov said a Ukrainian drone strike killed five people in Dzhankoi in Crimea.

He reported the casualties shortly after midnight, though details of the attack itself had been disclosed earlier.

Little hope for pause in war

There had been no indication from Moscow that it intended to honour Kyiv’s unilateral ceasefire announcement.

The war, now in its fifth year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, continues despite repeated diplomatic efforts led by the United States and European powers.

On 5 May alone, Russian missile and drone attacks killed 27 civilians and wounded 120 others across Ukraine, according to Ihor Klymenko.

The United Nations estimates that more than 15,000 civilians have been killed since the war began.

Victory Day truce questioned

Zelenskyy had proposed the unilateral ceasefire after Russia announced its own temporary pause in fighting for Victory Day commemorations marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

Kyiv said any Russian violation during the ceasefire period would trigger a military response.

European governments had welcomed Ukraine’s move as a goodwill gesture and a signal of willingness for a negotiated settlement.

However, Sybiha said Russia’s continued strikes exposed Moscow’s proposed ceasefire around 9 May as insincere.

Calls for tougher action on Moscow

The Ukrainian foreign minister urged the international community to increase pressure on Russia through new sanctions, diplomatic isolation and expanded military support for Kyiv.

Fighting meanwhile continues along the roughly 1,250-km frontline, where Russia’s larger military remains engaged in slow but costly offensives against Ukraine’s drone-intensive defences.