Russia continues to violate Kyiv-proposed ceasefire, Ukraine’s Zelensky says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Ukrainian rescuers working at the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 7.
PHOTO: EPA
- Zelensky accused Russia of violating Ukraine's May 6 ceasefire proposal, continuing drone, missile, and shelling attacks across the country.
- Ukraine launched "mirror response" long-range strikes on Russian military and oil infrastructure, hitting targets like Perm refinery up to 2,000 km away.
- Russia warned Kyiv embassies of mass strikes. Zelensky affirmed continued long-range strikes while also seeking genuine peace.
AI generated
KYIV - President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia continued to flout a Kyiv-proposed ceasefire on May 7, adding that Ukraine would continue its long-range strikes if Russia carried on with its assaults.
Mr Zelensky had floated the cessation - starting on May 6 - in response to Russian leader Vladimir Putin's own proposed ceasefire from May 8 to 9 to coincide with its World War II victory commemorations.
Moscow did not confirm it would adhere to Kyiv’s proposal.
Mr Zelensky said on May 7 that Russian forces have been attacking Ukraine with drones, missile strikes, shelling and assaults along the front line since the start of the day.
On May 6, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia had warned diplomatic missions to evacuate Kyiv in case of any mass strike by Moscow in response to Ukrainian attempts to disrupt Victory Day events.
The engine of a Russian drone lying on the ground in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on May 7.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Ukraine’s air force said its units had downed 92 of 102 drones since 6pm on May 6 (11pm in Singapore).
Russia said on May 7 that air defences had destroyed 32 drones heading towards Moscow since the start of the day.
“In a mirror response to Russian strikes, we will continue our long-range sanctions. And in response to Russia’s willingness to move toward diplomacy, we will proceed along the path of diplomacy,” Mr Zelensky said.
Kyiv’s forces have intensified attacks on military-industrial and energy sites across Russia, particularly oil infrastructure, in an effort to cripple Moscow’s biggest source of funding for its war in Ukraine.
On May 7, Ukrainian drones struck a Lukoil-owned refinery in Perm, near the Ural Mountains, Kyiv’s drone forces commander said, the second attack on the facility in eight days.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine has recently hit targets in Russia’s Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, as far as nearly 2,000km away.
“There is a need to establish peace, rather than running around the world’s capitals begging for a pause on May 9. We need peace,” Mr Zelensky said. REUTERS
