KYIV: Russia and Ukraine yesterday traded accusations of violating a three-day US-brokered ceasefire but no major strikes were reported by the warring sites so far.
US President Donald Trump initially announced the surprise truce, which coincides with Russia’s World War II victory celebrations, along with an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side that is set to take place in the coming days.
“Since the beginning of the day, the number of attacks by the aggressor has reached 51,” the Ukrainian General Staff said.
Volodymyr Petrov, press officer of the 33rd separate mechanised brigade, told AFP that “the ceasefire is ongoing” but that the Russians were still attacking with drones and artillery.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia launched just 44 drones from 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Friday, one of the lowest numbers in months.
The Russian defence ministry said that “despite the declaration of a ceasefire, Ukrainian armed groups launched attacks using drones and artillery against our troops’ positions”.
It did not provide the exact number of violations yesterday.
Casualties were still reported on both sides, as Moscow and Kyiv continued to exchange drone strikes.
Russian drones killed two civilians and wounded three in Ukraine’s central-eastern Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, local authorities said.
In Russia’s western Belgorod region, three people were wounded by Ukrainian drone strikes, said governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
No attacks were recorded on Russia’s Victory Day parade on Red Square.
The four-year war has seen occasional short-term truces, typically declared around Orthodox Easter. They have often been marked by mutual accusations of violations.
The war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes, making it Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
