Russian drone strikes apartment building in Kharkiv less than 24 hours into ceasefire
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Editor's Note: This is a developing story.
A Russian drone slammed into a residential building in the northwestern city of Kharkiv the night of May 9, less than 24 hours into what was supposed to be a three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
The drone attack hit a nine-story building in the city's Industrial district, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. While civilians were impacted — including two 8-year-old boys who suffered acute stress reactions — no casualties have been reported.
Emergency services are working at the attack site, the governor said.
The attack comes on the first day of a three-day truce between Kyiv and Moscow from May 9-11. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire on May 8, after Russia and Ukraine had each put forth separate ceasefire proposals.
President Volodymyr Zelensky followed up Trump's announcement with a decree "allowing" Russia to stage its Victory Day parade in Moscow's Red Square uninterrupted by Ukrainian drone strikes.
An official from the Presidential Office told reporters that Kyiv would leave Red Square alone for the duration of the parade, but would only refrain from attacking the rest of the country so long as Russia also upheld the ceasefire.
While the skies over both countries were unusually quiet for the first night of the truce, the drone strike in Kharkiv points to an even briefer respite than the promised three days. Ukraine's General Staff also reported that fighting on the front lines continued in spite of the ceasefire, with 121 combat clashes recorded throughout the day.
Civilian casualties were also reported in other front-line regions on May 9th. Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov said that a Russian first-person-view (FPV) drone struck a car in the Polohivskyi district, killing a 67-year-old man and injuring two other victims.
Shelling in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast killed a 46-year-old woman, while an 87-year-old woman was injured, according to regional authorities.
Earlier in the week, Ukraine declared its own ceasefire, to begin midnight on May 6, after Russia announced a 48-hour Victory Day truce for May 8-9. By 10 a.m. the following morning, Russia had violated Kyiv's proposed ceasefire a total of 1,820 times, Zelensky said.
