An overnight Russian drone assault on Kyiv left at least 11 people wounded, including two children, and ignited fires in several residential areas, Ukrainian authorities reported on Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a meaningful ceasefire lasting at least a month to break the deadlock of the war, now dragging into its fourth year.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a brief ceasefire from May 8-10 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s World War II victory — a move widely seen as a gesture to portray Russia as open to peace. Zelensky, however, pushed back, demanding a sustained halt to the fighting that began with Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
“The Russians talk of ceasefires, yet they strike Ukraine daily. This is pure hypocrisy: just this week, Russia has unleashed more than 1,180 attack drones, 1,360 guided bombs, and 10 missiles of various kinds on us,” Zelensky posted on X. “If we’re talking about a ceasefire, it shouldn’t be just for their holidays — it should be permanent.”
Timur Tkachenko, who heads Kyiv’s military administration, reported on social media that falling debris from intercepted drones triggered fires in the Obolonskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts of the capital. Ukraine’s emergency services said 76 firefighters were mobilized to contain the blazes, which included a smaller fire in Kyiv’s central Shevchenkivskyi district.
Photos shared online showed firefighters battling massive flames in what appeared to be apartment blocks. Several vehicles across the city were also set ablaze by falling drone wreckage.
Reuters journalists on the ground reported hearing multiple blasts, likely from Ukraine’s air defense systems intercepting incoming drones. According to the Ukrainian military, its air defense shot down 69 out of 165 drones launched by Russia overnight.
Moscow has yet to issue a statement regarding the attack.
The drone onslaught extended beyond Kyiv, striking Cherkasy in central Ukraine. National television reported that 15 of 22 drones targeting Cherkasy were intercepted. Emergency officials said one person was injured, and residential buildings, a furniture warehouse, a shopping center, and garden structures sustained damage.
Governor Ihor Taburets described Cherkasy’s regional center as the hardest hit.
Both Russia and Ukraine continue to deny deliberately targeting civilians in the conflict that erupted in February 2022.