KYIV: Russian attacks killed 21 people in cities across Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Moscow's "utter cynicism" for launching deadly strikes while seeking a truce to stage its May 9 patriotic parade.
The attacks on Tuesday — hitting the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk, and Dnipro — came hours before a Ukrainian-suggested ceasefire.
In Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine's southern city close to the frontline, 12 people were killed in an attack Zelensky described as having "absolutely no military justification."
Early Wednesday, the head of the Crimea region, which Russia annexed in 2014 from Ukraine, said Ukrainian drone strikes had killed five civilians.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to the State Department.
The two, who spoke at Lavrov's request, "discussed the US-Russia relationship, the Russia-Ukraine war, and Iran," State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, without giving details.
Russia has demanded that Kyiv agree to a ceasefire for its May 9 World War II Victory Day commemorations.
"We need silence from such strikes and all others like them every single day, not just for a few hours somewhere out there for 'celebrations,'" Zelensky said, calling on allies to condemn the attacks.
Kyiv has instead said it will halt fire over May 6.
But Russia attacked the city of Dnipro late on Tuesday, nearing Kyiv's deadline.
"With mere hours until Ukraine's ceasefire proposal comes into force, Russia shows no signs of preparing to end hostilities. On the contrary, Moscow intensifies terror," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiga said on X.
Zelensky said four civilians were killed in Dnipro.
Five others, he said, were killed when Russia attacked the center of the eastern city of Kramatorsk — the last hub under Kyiv's control in the embattled Donetsk region.
"The attack hit right in the city center, targeting civilians," he said, warning the death toll could rise.
The attacks came after several people were killed overnight, and as Russia geared up for its patriotic May 9 event this weekend.
At least 70 people were also wounded in Tuesday's strikes, according to numbers released by officials.
The attacks were the deadliest in weeks.
Intensifying strikes
Russia's May 9 parade is typically a bombastic display of military strength, which, since 2022, has sought to link Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with the invasion of Ukraine.
But the Kremlin ordered a scaled-back version this year — with no military hardware to be on display — over the fear it could be targeted by Ukraine.
Moscow also cut mobile internet throughout the Russian capital on Tuesday morning ahead of the parade, with operators reporting restrictions would last until Saturday.
Kyiv has intensified its retaliatory long-range strikes in recent weeks, hitting a spate of Russian oil facilities and a luxury high-rise building in Moscow.
It calls the strikes fair retaliation for Russia's nightly bombing of its cities with drones and missiles.
Short-term ceasefires are not infrequent, with the two sides having suspended long-range attacks over Orthodox Easter last month.
There is no sign that the four-year war is close to being resolved at the negotiating table.
Moscow is demanding that Kyiv fully withdraw troops from the eastern Donbas area and renounce Western military support — ultimatums seen as tantamount to capitulation in Kyiv, which has rejected them.
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