Russia fires over 200 drones at Ukraine as truce comes to an end

Multiple attacks reported in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region

A truce brokered by the United States has expired, and air attacks have resumed between Russia and Ukraine. According to Oleksandr Ganzha, regional administration chief of Dnipropetrovsk, at least one person was killed and four others were injured in Russian aerial attacks on Tuesday morning.

The attacks also targeted energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, causing outages, as well as residential buildings and a kindergarten in the Kyiv region. Additionally, Russian drones struck areas in Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that more than 200 drones were used in the attacks overnight. Russia’s Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the humanitarian ceasefire had ended, and the special military operation is continuing.

The exchange of aerial attacks came after a 72-hour truce announced by US President Donald Trump on Friday. The truce overlapped with Russia’s Victory Day, which celebrates the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Both sides have accused each other of violating the truce by attacking civilians. Zelenskyy stated that Russia was not observing the truce and had been carrying out attacks despite a lull in large-scale attacks. The Russian Ministry of Defence accused Ukraine of committing more than 1,000 ceasefire violations, including attacks on civilian targets and strikes against Russian military positions.

US-backed negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war have made little headway due to the crisis in the Middle East. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that the Ukraine war may be “coming to an end” and expressed a willingness to meet Zelenskyy in Moscow or a neutral country once an agreement is finalised.

Source: Al Jazeera