Russian overnight strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid killed at least five people, Ukrainian officials said, as rival ceasefire plans remained uncertain.
Russian drone and missile strikes targeting Ukraine’s power grid killed at least five people and wounded 39 others overnight, Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday, just before Kyiv said it would begin a ceasefire and days before Moscow’s promised truce.
The attacks underscored the fragility of the latest unilateral ceasefire announcements in a war marked by deep mistrust and repeated failed pauses. Russia has declared a two-day truce for Friday and Saturday around its Victory Day commemorations, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would observe a ceasefire from the end of Tuesday and respond according to Russia’s actions.
Zelenskyy accused Moscow of “utter cynicism” for launching new strikes after announcing its pause. “Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses,” he wrote on X. “Peace is needed, and real steps are needed to achieve it. Ukraine will act in kind.”
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 11 Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 164 strike drones from Monday night into Tuesday, including a jet-powered Shahed variant. Air defences intercepted 149 drones and one missile, while two ballistic missiles failed to reach their targets, the air force said.
The strikes hit natural gas production facilities in the central Poltava region and northeastern Kharkiv region, according to Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz Group. The company said its facilities have been attacked 107 times since the start of the year.
Zelenskyy said the Poltava attack was especially severe because a second missile was fired at the same site while emergency workers were already there fighting a fire. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Russia’s main targets included energy facilities, oil and gas infrastructure, railways and industrial sites, while homes, businesses and transportation networks were also damaged.
Casualty accounts from the latest Russian attacks varied by timing and location. Ukrainian authorities cited by CBC reported at least five people killed and 39 wounded in the overnight strikes into Tuesday. Al Jazeera, citing officials, reported that Russian missile attacks on Monday killed at least eight people in Ukraine, including six in Merefa in the Kharkiv region and two in the Kherson region, with more than 30 wounded in Merefa.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its ceasefire would apply Friday and Saturday but warned it would strike back if Ukraine tried to disrupt Victory Day events. Zelenskyy’s response did not specify an end date for Ukraine’s proposed truce.
Ukraine also continued long-range attacks inside Russia. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces destroyed 289 Ukrainian drones overnight across 18 Russian regions, as well as over occupied Crimea and the Azov Sea. Zelenskyy said Ukraine launched F-5 Flamingo cruise missiles at targets including military-industrial facilities in Cheboksary, more than 1,500 kilometres away. A regional health ministry said three people were wounded there.
Local Russian officials also reported Ukrainian drones near St. Petersburg, where the governor of the Leningrad region said 29 drones were shot down during an attack that sparked a fire in an industrial zone near the Kirishi oil refinery. No casualties were reported there.
Separately, Moscow’s mayor said a rare Ukrainian drone strike hit a residential high-rise in an upscale area of the Russian capital overnight into Monday, causing no casualties. Two other drones targeting Moscow were repelled by air defences, he said.
The latest test will come as Ukraine’s announced pause begins and Russia’s Victory Day ceasefire window approaches. For now, both governments are still reporting strikes, and the durability of either truce remains unclear.
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