The three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, announced by Donald Trump, has officially come into effect, but there are already reports of its violations.
In the early hours after midnight on May 9, both sides exchanged accusations of attacks.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that air defenses had intercepted Ukrainian drones aimed at the capital. The Russian Defense Ministry reported over a thousand violations of the ceasefire by Ukrainian forces.
Kiev accused Moscow of continuing to strike Ukrainian positions despite an official agreement to pause.
The ceasefire coincides with Victory Day celebrations in Russia. Before it came into effect, Russia threatened a massive missile strike on Kiev if Ukraine tried to disrupt the parade on Red Square.
This year's Red Square parade is being held in a “shortened format“ without military equipment (for the first time since 2007) and with mobile internet in the city turned off due to fears of attacks.
The announced ceasefire also includes an agreement to exchange prisoners “1000 for 1000“, which Ukraine confirmed it would respect, while Moscow defined it as its own initiative.
President Zelensky signed a decree guaranteeing that Ukrainian weapons would not attack Red Square during today's parade, but stressed that the ceasefire must be respected everywhere, not just symbolically.
The American president expressed hope that this temporary ceasefire could be extended and mark the beginning of the end of the war. Despite the violations, both sides confirmed that the prisoner exchange remains a priority.
The situation in recent days and the hours preceding the ceasefire was extremely tense and dynamic.
At least five people have been killed and 37 injured in Russian strikes in various regions of Ukraine.
There have been reports of residential buildings being hit in Kiev, Odessa and Dnipro. A missile attack in Merefa (near Kharkiv) has killed seven people.
There have been reports of Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure in Sumy and Zaporizhia. In Sumy, a Russian drone hit a kindergarten, and in Zaporizhia, homes were destroyed and power was cut off to thousands of people. There have been reports of civilian casualties and injuries as a result of these attacks.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported shooting down more than 260 Ukrainian drones overnight and in the early hours of the day. There were reports of attacks in the direction of Moscow and the Urals region (Perm), as well as a temporary suspension of operations at 13 airports in southern Russia.
The previous night, Russian air defenses repelled a large-scale attack by 347 Ukrainian drones over more than 20 regions, which is considered a record since the beginning of the conflict. Drones attacked the Russian capital in the hours before the parade. Temporary flight restrictions were introduced at Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo due to the “Kilim” regime.
There are reports of a drone hitting a high-rise apartment building in Moscow. Ukrainian drones hit oil facilities in the village of Yurovka (near Anapa, Krasnodar Territory), causing fires in the tanks. A strike on a strategic refinery in Yaroslavl was also confirmed.
During the drone attacks in Rostov-on-Don, the administrative building of the regional air navigation center was hit. Russian authorities reported no casualties in this particular incident, but accused Kiev of attempting to destabilize the holiday celebrations.