Ukraine has ended its unilateral ceasefire after accusing Russia of violating the truce with overnight drone and missile strikes on multiple cities.
Moscow declared a temporary ceasefire for Friday and Saturday, coinciding with Victory Day commemorations marking the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Kyiv responded with its own open-ended ceasefire starting at midnight Wednesday.
“Throughout the entire day, almost every hour, reports of strikes have been coming in from different regions of Ukraine,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X. “Ukraine will act in kind. Depending on the situation overnight and tomorrow, we will also determine our fully justified responses.”
I thank every state and leader who supported Ukraine’s proposal for a full ceasefire. Russia responded to it only with new strikes and attacks. Throughout the entire day, almost every hour, reports of strikes have been coming in from different regions of Ukraine.
Ukraine will act… pic.twitter.com/Ff1BGMRzTS— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 6, 2026
Zelenskyy later said Ukraine had observed that “additional rings of air defence” had been built up around Moscow, with systems redeployed from other parts of Russia.
He said this was proof the Kremlin was “more concerned about its parade in Moscow” than about the rest of the country.
He added that the fact that some parts of Russia were left uncovered created “additional opportunities for Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory.
Ukrainian officials said Russia launched a wave of drone and missile strikes across the country on Wednesday, including an attack that killed a woman at a kindergarten in northeastern Ukraine’s Sumy region.
This morning, Russians launched drone strikes on civilian infrastructure in Sumy. According to Ukrainian channels, a kindergarten was hit. People may be trapped under the rubble. Yet, for May 9th, the Russians claim they want peace – only because they need to hold their parade. pic.twitter.com/SBfTRpMQNm
— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) May 6, 2026
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russian forces also carried out strikes on Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
Russia violated the ceasefire initiated by Ukraine at midnight between May 5th and 6th.
Russian attacks with the use of 108 drones and 3 missiles continued throughout the night, including morning strikes on Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia.
Moscow once again ignored a realistic and…
— Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) May 6, 2026
“Moscow once again ignored a realistic and fair call to end hostilities, supported by other states and international organizations. This shows that Russia rejects peace and its fake calls for a ceasefire on May 9th have nothing to do with diplomacy. Putin only cares about military parades, not human lives,” Sybiha said.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, one guided air-launched missile, and 108 drones overnight. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 89 drones.
The Russian defence ministry said it had downed 53 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday, but did not specify whether any were launched after Kyiv’s unilateral ceasefire took effect.
