Ukraine Accuses Russia of Breaching Its Own 3-Day Cease-Fire

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said a cease-fire Russia called to mark Victory Day over Nazi Germany has turned into a ‘farce.’

Chinese leader Xi Jinping (4th L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (5th L) watch the Victory Day military parade with leaders of several former Soviet states, in Moscow, Russia, on May 9, 2025. Sergei Bobylev/RIA Novosti via AP

Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called Russia’s three-day cease-fire a “farce” and claimed Moscow breached it 734 times between 12:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Sybiha wrote on X on Thursday: “Predictably, Putin’s ‘parade ceasefire’ proves to be a farce. According to our military data, despite Putin’s statements, Russian forces continue to attack across the entire frontline.”

He claimed that the 734 violations of the cease-fire included “586 attacks on our troops’ positions, 464 of which used heavy weapons ... and 10 air strikes using 16 guided aerial bombs.”

The Russian defence ministry, cited by the Interfax news agency, said Ukraine had carried out 488 attacks on Russian targets.

On April 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally called the 72-hour cease-fire from May 8–May 10, to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, known by Russians as the Great Patriotic War.

Ukraine rejected the Russian cease-fire and queried why Moscow would not assent to Kyiv’s call for an immediate 30-day cease-fire.

In an address to the nation on April 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “Russia has consistently rejected everything and continues to manipulate the world, trying to deceive the United States.

“Now, yet again, another attempt at manipulation: for some reason, everyone is supposed to wait until May 8 before ceasing fire—just to provide Putin with silence for his parade. We value human lives, not parades.”

The regional prosecutor’s office in the Sumy region, in northeastern Ukraine, said one person was killed and two were wounded when Russian forces dropped guided bombs on residential areas near the border.

Oleh Petrasiuk, a spokesman for Ukraine’s 24th Mechanized Brigade, said Russian attacks took place near Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region.

But the Russian Defense Ministry blamed Ukrainian forces for attacking its positions and said its forces would “mirror” Ukraine’s actions during the three-day cease-fire.

Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said it briefly imposed restrictions on flights to and from Nizhny Novgorod airport after reports of Ukrainian drones in the area.

Russia is hosting celebrations and a military parade for Victory Day on Friday, at which the guest of honor is Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who met Putin on Thursday for talks.

During the meeting, Xi said China and Russia should remain committed to cooperation and “eliminate external interference,” according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.

Other foreign leaders attending the Victory Day anniversary celebrations in Moscow include Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, and representatives from Cuba, Venezuela, Vietnam, Venezuela, and a number of countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union.

Russian state-owned news agency TASS, on its Telegram channel, posted a photograph of Putin meeting North Korean soldiers in Red Square on Friday.

Putin Thanks North Korean Soldiers

TASS said the Russian leader thanked them, adding, “Putin conveyed his best wishes to all North Korean fighters.”

In October 2024, NATO said North Korean soldiers had been deployed in the Kursk region, supporting Russian troops fighting against the Ukrainian incursion in the area.

But Russia only confirmed that North Korean soldiers were fighting alongside its forces on April 26.

On April 30, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers that North Korea has suffered 4,700 casualties, including 600 deaths, in the conflict with Ukraine.

On Thursday, the Ukrainian Parliament—by a vote of 338 in favor and none against—ratified the minerals deal that was signed with the United States on April 30.

Ukraine’s economics minister, Yuliia Svyrydenko, wrote on X, “This document is not merely a legal construct, it is the foundation of a new model of interaction with a key strategic partner.”

A rescue worker helps an injured woman evacuated from a building that was allegedly damaged by a Russian strike in the Sumy region, Ukraine, on May 8, 2025. Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP

U.S. President Donald Trump spent months working on a deal in which the United States could gain access to Ukraine’s natural resources.

Negotiations for this economic partnership hit an early setback during a Feb. 28 White House meeting in which Trump and Zelenskyy clashed in front of the gathered media over how best to settle the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war.

But negotiations resumed and eventually led to the April 30 deal, which does not need to be ratified by Congress.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.