Russia Strikes Ukraine Killing Dozens in Hours Before Announced Ceasefire

On the afternoon of May 5, 2026, Russian glide bombs tore into a car repair shop and residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, killing 12 people and wounding 20 [1]. Hours later, six more were dead in Kramatorsk, the last major Ukrainian-held city in the Donetsk region [2]. Four died in Dnipro. Overnight, a combined strike of ballistic missiles and drones hit five Naftogaz gas production facilities in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions, killing three employees and two rescue workers who had arrived to fight fires from an initial wave [3].

The total: at least 27 dead and more than 80 wounded across five Ukrainian regions — all in the 48 hours before two rival ceasefires were supposed to begin [1][4].

The Competing Ceasefires

The origins of this week's ceasefire confusion trace to a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump told reporters on April 30 that he had suggested "a little bit of a ceasefire" to Putin, who indicated willingness to pause fighting around the May 9 Victory Day anniversary — the annual commemoration of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany [5][6].

On May 4, Russia's Defense Ministry formalized the offer: a unilateral ceasefire on May 8-9, tied explicitly to the 81st Victory Day celebrations. The announcement came with a threat. If Ukraine "attempts to implement its criminal plans to disrupt the celebration," Russia warned, its armed forces would "launch a retaliatory, massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv" [7][8].

Ukraine responded with its own proposal. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, noting he had never received a formal communication from Russia about its truce terms, announced an open-ended ceasefire beginning at midnight on May 5-6. Kyiv said its military would act "symmetrically" — matching any Russian restraint or responding to any Russian aggression [4][8].

The two declarations had no shared verification mechanism, no agreed-upon terms, and no third-party monitors. Neither side formally accepted the other's proposal. This was not a negotiated agreement but a pair of unilateral statements directed at international audiences as much as at each other [8][9].

What Was Hit

The May 5 strikes targeted a mix of energy infrastructure and civilian areas across Ukraine.

Zaporizhzhia: Glide bombs struck a car repair shop and nearby residential buildings in the southeastern city, killing at least 12 and wounding 20 — one of the worst single attacks on the city this year [1][2].

Kramatorsk: Six killed and 12 wounded in the eastern Donetsk hub, which serves as a de facto administrative center for Ukrainian-controlled territory in the region [2].

Dnipro: Four killed in strikes on the central Ukrainian city [1].

Poltava and Kharkiv regions: A combined strike involving 11 ballistic missiles and 164 drones targeted five Naftogaz gas production facilities. The state energy company's CEO, Serhiy Koretskyi, said the company sustained "significant damage and production losses." Two of the dead were State Emergency Service rescuers killed in a follow-up strike that hit after they arrived to respond to the initial attack — a tactic documented repeatedly throughout the war [3][10].

Since the start of 2026, Naftogaz facilities have been attacked 107 times, according to the company [10].

Ukraine's air force reported that of the 11 ballistic missiles and 164 drones launched on May 5, one missile and 149 drones were intercepted. Eight missiles and 14 drones struck 14 locations [3].

The Ceasefire That Lasted Minutes

When Kyiv's ceasefire took effect at midnight on May 6, Ukraine's air force almost immediately issued air raid warnings. Within minutes, fresh Russian drones were crossing Ukrainian airspace [11][12].

By morning, Ukraine's air force reported that Russia had launched two ballistic missiles, one cruise missile, and 108 drones since 6 p.m. the previous evening. Strikes hit Kharkiv (drones setting houses on fire, injuring two), the Zaporizhzhia region (laser-guided aerial bombs), and Sumy (a bomb struck a car and drones hit civilian buildings, killing one) [11][12].

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha declared that Russia had violated Kyiv's ceasefire and "once again ignored a realistic and fair call to end hostilities." He added: "This shows that Russia rejects peace and its fake calls for a ceasefire on May 9th have nothing to do with diplomacy. Putin only cares about military parades, not human lives" [12][13].

Russia's Defense Ministry, for its part, claimed to have intercepted 53 Ukrainian drones between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. Wednesday, framing its own military activity as defensive [11]. Moscow did not address Kyiv's ceasefire directly, maintaining that its own truce would begin on May 8 as announced.

A Pattern Measured in Decades

This is not the first time a ceasefire involving Russia and Ukraine has collapsed on contact with reality.

Source: Compiled from Reuters, AP, Al Jazeera reports

Data as of May 6, 2026CSV

President Zelenskyy has stated that Moscow violated ceasefire deals 25 times after Russia's initial intervention in eastern Ukraine in 2014 [14]. The record since the full-scale invasion in February 2022 is no better:

• March 2022: Three attempts at humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from besieged cities like Mariupol were agreed upon and violated. The OSCE and Ukrainian officials documented Russian shelling along evacuation routes within hours of each agreement [15][16].
• July 2022: The Black Sea Grain Initiative provided a limited ceasefire framework for grain exports. Russia eventually withdrew from the deal in July 2023 [14].
• May 2025: Russia declared a Victory Day ceasefire. Ukraine subsequently reported Moscow had broken its own truce with hundreds of strikes across the country [14][17].
• January 2026: A Trump-brokered energy infrastructure ceasefire provided a brief, limited pause in attacks on power grids. Russia signaled the arrangement was temporary [18].

The pre-ceasefire escalation pattern also has precedent. In the days before the February 2022 invasion, the OSCE recorded up to 3,231 ceasefire violations in a single day in areas controlled by pro-Russian forces — a spike widely interpreted as manufactured pretext [14].

International Reactions

Western governments rallied behind Ukraine's ceasefire offer while condemning Russia's continued strikes.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Zelenskyy had "once again demonstrated" Ukraine's readiness for an immediate ceasefire, calling on Russia to begin the truce "already tonight" [19]. Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said Stockholm "fully supports" the proposal and urged Russia to "show that it is serious about ending the war" [19].

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot was more pointed, calling Russia's May 8-9 truce "a PR exercise" [19]. Latvia's Baiba Braže accused Russia of launching missiles while "pretending" to offer a ceasefire for propaganda, saying "Actions, not words, matter" [13][19]. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys warned that any truce cannot be "dictated by the calendar of Russia's war-glorifying parade" [19].

In Washington, the Congressional Ukraine Caucus co-chairs backed the ceasefire and called on Putin to demonstrate "good faith." Their statement concluded: "The path to peace is open. The responsibility to take it rests with the Kremlin" [19].

UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed both unilateral ceasefires and said he "looks forward to their successful implementation," a statement that appeared overtaken by events within hours [4].

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha called on partners to increase pressure on Moscow "including new rounds of sanctions, isolation, accountability for Russian crimes and enhanced support for Ukraine in all areas" [13]. As of publication, no new sanctions or formal diplomatic consequences had been announced.

The Displacement Crisis

The strikes compound a displacement crisis that has made Ukraine one of the largest sources of refugees worldwide.

Source: UNHCR Population Data

Data as of Dec 31, 2025CSV

According to UNHCR data, Ukraine remains the second-largest refugee-producing country globally, with approximately 5.3 million Ukrainians displaced abroad — behind only Syria's 5.5 million [20]. Millions more are internally displaced within Ukraine, with frontline cities like Kramatorsk and Zaporizhzhia serving as waypoints for civilians moving westward.

The destruction of gas production infrastructure in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions adds an energy dimension to the humanitarian situation. With 107 attacks on Naftogaz facilities in 2026 alone, Ukraine's ability to supply heating and cooking gas to its population — particularly in eastern and central regions — is under sustained pressure [10].

Russia's Stated Position

Moscow has offered no explicit justification for the timing of the May 5 strikes relative to its own ceasefire announcement. The Russian Defense Ministry framed its overnight military activity on May 5-6 as defensive, citing the destruction of 289 Ukrainian drones across 18 Russian regions [4][11].

Russia also pointed to Ukrainian attacks on its territory. Ukraine struck the Kinef oil refinery in Kirishi in the Leningrad region and reportedly killed five civilians in Crimea's Dzhankoi, with two killed and more than 32 wounded in drone strikes on the Chuvash Republic [3]. Moscow has consistently framed its military operations as responses to Ukrainian aggression rather than initiating escalation.

The steelman version of Russia's position: its ceasefire was announced for May 8-9, and it never accepted or acknowledged Kyiv's earlier May 6 start date. From Moscow's legal framing, the strikes on May 5 occurred during active hostilities, not during any agreed pause. Russia characterizes the Victory Day ceasefire as a goodwill gesture tied to a specific commemorative window, not as a broader peace commitment [7][8].

This year's Victory Day parade on Red Square will proceed without tanks, missiles, or other military equipment for the first time in nearly two decades — reportedly due to concerns about Ukrainian drone attacks reaching the capital [8].

Legal Questions

International humanitarian law (IHL) does not treat a unilateral ceasefire declaration as legally binding on the non-declaring party. A ceasefire becomes binding when both parties agree to its terms or when it is imposed by a UN Security Council resolution — neither of which occurred here [21].

However, IHL does prohibit attacks on civilian objects and disproportionate attacks at all times, regardless of ceasefire status. The strikes on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia and the double-tap attack on rescue workers at the Naftogaz facilities raise questions under the existing prohibition on targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure [21].

The ICC has maintained an active investigation into crimes committed in Ukraine since March 2022, resulting in arrest warrants for Putin and three other Russian officials. By late October 2024, Ukraine's Prosecutor's office had documented over 39,000 alleged Russian war crimes and identified more than 600 suspects [21]. Whether the May 5-6 strikes fall within the scope of existing ICC inquiries has not been publicly confirmed by the court, though the documented targeting of energy infrastructure and civilian areas fits the pattern of conduct already under investigation.

What Comes Next

As of May 6, 2026, the situation stands as follows: Ukraine's ceasefire, declared and violated within minutes, has been rendered moot by continued Russian attacks. Russia's own ceasefire, scheduled for May 8-9, remains nominally in place but carries little credibility given the events of the preceding days.

Trump's role as an intermediary — having initially floated the Victory Day truce idea to Putin — faces a test. No public statement from the White House directly addressing the May 5-6 strikes was available at the time of reporting [5][6].

The competing ceasefires, announced without coordination or verification mechanisms, functioned less as pathways to a pause in fighting and more as positioning tools: Kyiv demonstrating willingness to stop fighting immediately, Moscow tying its pause to a nationalistic commemoration. The 27 dead on May 5 and the overnight strikes that followed are the cost of that gap between declaration and reality.