Russia hits Ukraine after ceasefire expires, killing at least six

Russian attacks resumed across Ukraine as soon as a U.S.-mediated three-day ceasefire expired, underscoring how little restraint the pause had imposed on the battlefield. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, strikes killed at least six people, while Ukrainian officials said Russia then launched more than 200 drones overnight, pushing air defenses into another long night of interception and warning.

The truce covered May 9 to May 11 and was tied to the Victory Day anniversary marking the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two. Donald Trump said on Friday that he hoped it would be extended, but the pause never hardened into a broader halt. Ukrainian officials said fighting continued along the 1,250-kilometer front line even during the ceasefire, and the General Staff reported 170 combat clashes in one 24-hour period, with the heaviest fighting near Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.

The sharpest civilian toll was in Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, Kryvyi Rih. A drone hit an apartment building, killing two people, including the parents of a nine-month-old granddaughter who was also injured. Another aerial bomb strike northeast of the city killed four more people and wounded three. Zelensky called the Kryvyi Rih strike “cynical and devoid of all military logic,” and said pressure on Russia must not be weakened.

By Wednesday, Zelensky said Russia had shifted toward daylight attacks, warning of possible waves of drone strikes throughout the day and saying more than 100 drones were already in Ukraine’s airspace. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said the assault was likely prolonged, aimed at critical infrastructure, and could be followed by missile strikes. Ukrainian officials said the attacks damaged energy facilities, apartment buildings, a kindergarten and a civilian locomotive, widening the impact beyond the immediate front line.

The renewed barrage also raised spillover concerns beyond Ukraine. Poland scrambled fighter jets as the attack wave moved across the region, a reminder that every pause in the war is now judged less by the paper terms of a truce than by whether it can actually constrain Russian firepower. In practice, this ceasefire looked less like a durable restraint than a brief tactical lull before the next round of strikes.