Nearly 20 dead in Ukraine as a result of Russian strikes, hours before a possible ceasefire. “Absolute Cynicism”
Russian shelling left at least 18 dead in broad daylight in Ukraine on Tuesday, with President Volodymyr Zelensky denouncing Moscow's “absolute cynicism” ahead of a possible ceasefire as Russia's Victory Day demonstrations approach, reports AFP.
According to provisional counts, at least 12 people were killed in Zaporozhye in the south of the country, five in Kramatorsk (eastern city) and one in Nikopol (center-east), illustrating an increasingly frequent trend by Russia to strike Ukraine day and night, more than four years after the full-scale invasion began.
Volodymyr Zelensky, who is visiting Bahrain, wrote that he feared an even worse toll in Kramatorsk, the city that was hit in the center in the afternoon.
A bastion of the Ukrainian military, this last major city under Kiev's control in the eastern Donetsk region has been under increasingly intense Russian attacks for months.
A rescue operation continues in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, at the site of a Russian attack. Russian air bombs struck right in the city center, targeting civilians. As of now, at least 5 people have been reported injured and 5 people killed. My sincere condolences to their families and… pic.twitter.com/pNgYrVxCog
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) May 5, 2026
In Zaporozhye, in the south, four aerial bombs were also launched near the city center, killing at least 12 and wounding 20, regional police spokeswoman Anna Tkachenko told AFP.
Long-range Russian missile and drone strikes have already left at least five dead in Ukraine, including rescuers, and dozens injured overnight, according to Kiev.
Russia bombed Zaporizhzhia and Kramatorsk in broad daylight. Guided bombs and then drones. 17 people killed. Maniacs. Bloodthirsty maniacs. pic.twitter.com/9kxYcxu8NN
— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) May 5, 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered a two-day truce in the conflict with Ukraine on May 8 and 9 to mark the anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded with his own proposal for an earlier cessation of hostilities on the night of May 5-6.
