Ukraine, five dead from Russian attacks. Kiev had announced a two-day ceasefire

At least five people, including rescuers, were killed and dozens more wounded in a Russian raid conducted over two Ukrainian regions. This was reported by local sources, who said that in the central Poltava region a Russian drone and missile attack left four people dead and 31 wounded and damaged an industrial enterprise, with 3,480 utilities left without gas while railway infrastructure was also hit. In the Kharkiv region, one person was killed and two injured.

Yesterday, in a post on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had announced a ceasefire starting from midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, after Russia instead decreed a treaty on 8 and 9 May, coinciding with Victory Day celebrations. However, Kiev has warned that it will retaliate to any Russian attack, while the Russian army threatens to launch a "massive missile attack" on Kiev if it violates the cessation of hostilities declared on 8 and 9 May. "We will act mutually from then on," Zelensky warned. "It is time for Russian leaders to take concrete steps to end the war, especially since the Russian Defence Ministry believes it cannot organise a parade in Moscow without Ukraine's cooperation," he added.

On Tuesday night, Russian air defence warning systems shot down 289 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and the Sea of Azov. This was reported by the Russian Defence Ministry. "During the past night, from 8pm Moscow time on 4 May to 7am Moscow time on 5 May, air defence warning systems intercepted and destroyed 289 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aircraft," the statement read.

The ministry indicated that the drones were shot down over the regions of Bryansk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Kaluga, Smolensk, Oryol, Tver, Tula, Ryazan, Pskov, Novgorod, Leningrad, Rostov and Volgograd, in the Moscow region, in the Crimean and Tatarstan republics, in the Krasnodar territory and on the Azov Sea.