KYIV: A three-day ceasefire declared by Russia came into effect on Thursday morning with skies over Ukraine’s major cities quiet, in a change from successive nights of heavy attacks by Russian drones and ballistic missiles.
Ukraine’s air force reported that after the start of the Kremlin-sponsored ceasefire Russian aircraft twice launched guided bombs on the Sumy region of northern Ukraine. There was no word on damage and Reuters could not independently verify the attacks.
The Russian ceasefire, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the World War Two defeat of Nazi Germany, went into effect at midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT).
As part of the anniversary events, Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders in Moscow, and will review a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square on May 9.
Ukraine has not committed to abide by the Kremlin’s ceasefire, calling it a ruse by Putin to create the impression he wants to end the war, which began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Putin says he is committed to achieving peace.
Ukraine launched successive drone attacks on Moscow this week, which had forced the closure of airports in the Russian capital and the grounding of airliners.
Apart from the Ukrainian air force reports about the two launches of guided bombs, there were no reports in Ukraine of any Russian long-range drones or missiles being launched on Ukrainian cities early on Thursday.
As of 3:45 am (00:45 GMT), the capital Kyiv was quiet, in contrast to 24 hours earlier when the city had reverberated with the sound of explosions from waves of Russian airborne attacks, and outgoing Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire.
