Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for a three-day truce with Ukraine took effect Thursday, but the Ukrainians said Moscow had broken its own order after just a few hours.
The apparent breach of the temporary ceasefire came as world leaders – including China’s Xi Jinping, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic – were in Moscow for commemorations of the end of World War II.
“During the night, the enemy intensified tactical aviation strikes using guided aerial bombs in the Sumy region,” Kyiv’s air force said.
However, it said that as of 8am, “no missile attacks or attack drones were recorded in Ukrainian airspace”.
Putin unilaterally ordered the temporary truce to coincide with Moscow’s Victory Day parade on Friday.
Ukraine never agreed to the proposal, has dismissed it as theatrics and called instead for a 30-day ceasefire.