Overview
- Following Tuesday's deadly barrages across Ukraine, officials reported at least 20 civilian deaths in Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk, Dnipro and Nikopol.
- Russia announced a unilateral truce for May 8–9 tied to Victory Day and warned it would launch a massive missile strike on central Kyiv if celebrations are attacked, urging civilians and foreign mission staff to leave the capital.
- Ukraine, which began a separate ceasefire from midnight Wednesday local time, said it would mirror any violations and condemned what President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia's “absolute cynicism.”
- Cross‑border attacks persisted, with Ukrainian drones hitting targets in Russia including a Moscow high‑rise and Crimea's Dzhankoi, where Russian authorities reported five deaths, while regional officials in Belgorod said a drone strike killed a civilian.
- Security steps around Moscow's parade intensified with mobile internet curbed and no military hardware planned on Red Square, as the UN welcomed the pauses and analysts noted a recurring pattern of brief holiday truces that rarely hold.