KRAMATORSK, Ukraine -- Russian forces hit at least three cities across Ukraine, using "glide bombs" and drones, killing more than two dozen people and wounding dozens of others, in one of the bloodiest attack on Ukraine in months.
Ukraine, meanwhile, launched its newest long-range cruise missile, along with a volley of drones, at a region nearly 1,200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian weapons plant was targeted by the Flamingo missiles.
The back-and-forth on May 5 came days before Russia and Ukraine both mark the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Ukraine’s events -- known since 2023 as the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism -- are held on May 8 and traditionally focused mainly on war veterans.
Russia, meanwhile, has turned its May 9 Victory Day event into a grandiose celebration of Soviet military history, as well as extolling Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, now in its fifth year.
The annual Russian parade, held on Red Square next to the Kremlin, has been scaled-back this year, with Kremlin officials citing the danger of Ukrainian drones.
Earlier this week, a drone suspected to be Ukrainian slammed into a luxury high-rise building just a few kilometers from the Kremlin. The drone managed to evade Moscow’s numerous air defenses.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a cease-fire to coincide with the May 9 events, and the Defense Ministry warned Ukraine against attacking during that time, threatening to hit central Kyiv in retaliation.
Zelenskyy has rebuffed Putin’s proposal, and instead announced a cease-fire as of May 5.
Ukraine has expanded its drone and missile arsenals dramatically in recent years, launching more drones and sending them further into Russia. In the past few weeks, Ukrainian drones have hit oil export facilities on the Baltic Sea.
Zelenskyy said multiple “Flamingo” missiles -- a homegrown weapon that Ukraine has rushed into development -- were used in the attack on Cheboksary, targeting a manufacturing plant that supplied navigation components to the Russian military.
At least two people were killed and more than 30 injured, the regional governor said.
The plant manufactured navigational systems, and other technology for Russia's navy and aerospace forces, Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram.
Russian forces targeted at least three locations across Ukraine, using “glide” bombs -- aircraft-dropped weapons that contain heavy amounts of explosives.
In Zaporizhzhya, emergency responders struggled to put out blazes and treat victims of the bombing, which killed at least 12 people, and injured more than a dozen.
Russian drones hit residential apartment buildings in the northern city of Chernihiv, wounding at least 17 people. Officials said it appeared the city’s main administrative building was the target.
State-owned natural gas company Naftogaz reported that three employees were killed in a Russian strike on a gas facility near Poltava. Two emergency workers were also killed in the “double-tap” strike -- when a second attack is launched as firefighters or rescue workers work to help victims.
In Kramatorsk, a Donbas region city that is close to the frontlines, at least five people were killed in a Russian air strike and nine wounded, according to regional military head Vadym Filashkin.
The central city of Dnipro was also pounded by Russian drones and missiles, officials said, with at least 4 people killed,
On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces have battled Russian troops to a near-stalemate, with Russian units advancing at a glacial pace, at the cost of extraordinary casualties.
In some place, Russian forces have lost ground.
