Kanyshai Butun
12 May 2026•Update: 12 May 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Tuesday that Russia launched more than 200 drones overnight, choosing “to end the partial ceasefire.”
“We have said that we will respond in kind to all Russian steps,” Zelenskyy warned on the US social media company X.
He accused Moscow of launching more than 80 aerial bombs and carrying out over 30 airstrikes.
He said drones were shot down over the Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions, as well as Kyiv and the surrounding region.
Zelenskyy said energy facilities, apartment buildings and a kindergarten were damaged. He also reported a strike on a civilian locomotive in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
“People have been reported injured as a result of these strikes. And, unfortunately, there are fatalities,” he said, expressing condolences to the victims’ families.
“Russia must end this war, and it is Russia that must take the step toward a real, lasting ceasefire,” he emphasized, calling for stronger sanctions against Moscow until a lasting truce is reached.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram that its forces shot down 31 Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod, Volgograd, Voronezh and Rostov regions since midnight.
Independent verification of the claims remains difficult because of the ongoing war.
A three-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump expired at 2100GMT on Monday.
Trump said Friday that Moscow and Kyiv agreed to a truce for May 9-11, along with a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange, describing the move as a possible step toward ending the war.
Before Trump’s proposal, Moscow announced a unilateral ceasefire for May 8-9 to mark the anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II and warned Ukraine of a “massive” missile response if Victory Day celebrations were disrupted.
Kyiv later said it would observe a ceasefire beginning at midnight on May 6. Both sides subsequently accused each other of violating the truce.
