Zelenskyy condemns Russian ‘cynicism’ over parade truce as attack kills five

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the Kremlin of “utter cynicism” for killing five people in overnight strikes at the same time as seeking a truce so it can stage a military parade in Moscow.

Three employees of the state energy firm Naftogaz were killed in an initial attack on a gas facility in Ukraine’s central Poltava region, and two emergency service workers died at the scene in a follow-on bombing. Thirty-seven people were injured in the strikes.

The Ukrainian president said: “It is utter cynicism to ask for a ceasefire in order to hold propaganda celebrations while carrying out missile and drone strikes every single day leading up to it. Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses.”

Vladimir Putin has announced a unilateral ceasefire around Russia marking the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany on Friday. For the first time in almost 20 years, the Red Square parade will take place without military hardware, amid fears Ukraine will target the event with long-range drones.

Zelenskyy has offered his own 24-hour ceasefire, beginning at midnight on Wednesday. He said Ukraine would “act reciprocally” in the event that Russia stopped firing – something it has failed to do during previous temporary truces.

Zelenskyy wrote on social media: “It is time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war, especially since Russia’s defence ministry believes it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine’s goodwill.”

Without an agreement, Moscow faces the embarrassing prospect that Kyiv could disrupt the parade, which will be attended by Putin and VIPs. The annual ceremony is a bombastic show of military strength that Putin has exploited to seek to justify his 2022 Ukraine invasion, casting both wars as fights against fascism.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified its long-range retaliatory strikes on Russia’s interior, hitting oil refineries, terminals and even fighter jets. Drones have struck military objects in the Urals, more than 1,000 miles from the frontline.

The Poltava attack triggered outrage in Ukraine. The foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said: “Two of the killed were first responders, killed in a vile double-tap strike targeting those who arrived to help people at the scene of the attack. Only a terrorist state like Russia employs inhuman and criminal tactics like these.”

One person was killed in the north-eastern Kharkiv region as Russia fired 11 ballistic missiles and 164 drones across the country, according to officials. Direct hits and falling debris were reported at two sites in the Poltava district, the regional governor, Vitalii Diakivnych, said on the messaging app Telegram. He said the attack cut gas supply to nearly 3,500 people.