KYIV - Ukraine said Russia was attacking across the front line on Thursday, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for a three-day truce supposed to take effect on Thursday morning a “farce”. The Russian army said it was responding to Ukrainian attacks but observing the truce, which Putin unilaterally ordered to coincide with a massive parade in Moscow to mark World War II Victory Day. “Predictably, Putin’s ‘Parade ceasefire’ proves to be a farce,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said. “Russian forces continue to attack across the entire front line. From midnight to midday, Russia carried out 734 ceasefire violations and 63 assault operations,” he said.
Ukraine would respond and share all information with its allies, he added.
Kyiv never agreed to the truce, but Russia accused Ukraine of violating it.
“The Russian Armed Forces are strictly observing the ceasefire. This includes no strikes by aircraft, missile forces, artillery or unmanned aerial vehicles,” Russia’s defence ministry said in a briefing. “Despite the announcement of the ceasefire, Ukrainian army units have not ceased hostilities against Russian troops,” the ministry said. Ukraine’s air force earlier reported guided bomb strikes on the northern region of Sumy. “No missile attacks or attack drones were recorded in Ukrainian airspace. However, during the night, the enemy intensified tactical aviation strikes using guided aerial bombs in the Sumy region,” the air force said, after reporting several launches in the morning.
Earlier in the day, Russia struck a residential area near the town of Bilopillya, close to the border between Sumy and Russia’s Kursk region, Ukraine’s emergency services said.
In the meanwhile, Ukraine reported limited strikes on its northeastern region of Sumy but no missile or drone attacks on Thursday morning, as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for a three-day truce with Ukraine was supposed to take effect. Putin unilaterally ordered the temporary truce to coincide with Moscow’s Victory Day parade on Friday, a proposal Ukraine dismissed as theatrics. “As of 08:00 am, no missile attacks or attack drones were recorded in Ukrainian airspace. However, during the night, the enemy intensified tactical aviation strikes using guided aerial bombs in the Sumy region,” the air force said, after reporting several launches in the morning.
A strike hit a residential area near Bilopillya, a village close to the border between Sumy and Russia’s Kursk region, the emergency services said.
Rescuers managed to free a woman trapped under the rubble, according to the statement from the emergency services. The head of Ukraine’s disinformation countering centre, Andriy Kovalenko, claimed Russia was “violating the ceasefire by attacking the Sumy region.” He also reported attacks on “the front line in the east and the Kharkiv region” in northeastern Ukraine -- though the General Staff was yet to comment on this.
