Kyiv, May 7, 2025 – Just hours before an expected ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was to go into effect, both sides unleashed fresh attacks across multiple fronts, casting further doubt over fragile prospects for peace. Ukrainian officials reported at least two civilian casualties from an air strike that hit a residential district of central Kyiv early Tuesday morning; one civilian died during this missile strike which killed them both.
Emergency services in Kiev reported that shortly before 4 a.m. local time a high-rise apartment building in Shevchenkivskyi district was struck by a Russian missile, killing two individuals: 62-year-old woman and her 35-year-old son were both found dead, five others including a child were injured in addition to several floors being completely demolished as a result of this explosion.
Vitali Klitschko strongly condemned the attack as an attempt by “cowards to break Ukrainian morale just when world peace seems imminent.” He advised residents to be on alert during air raid alerts, which remain frequent.
Ukrainian air defenses were activated across several regions, with the military claiming they intercepted 12 out of 18 missiles that came in overnight. Damage was still reported in Dnipro and Kharkiv cities where infrastructure and power grids were attacked by attackers.
Ukrainian forces fired an artillery and drone barrage into Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian territories and Belgorod across the border in Russia. Russian authorities reported their air defense systems shot down multiple Ukrainian drones but acknowledged at least four people were injured in Belgorod city center as a result of these strikes.
“These reckless provocations endanger the ceasefire process,” stated Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov while accusing Ukraine of acting under Western pressure to further delay peace. Moscow did not confirm whether they would still commit to starting their ceasefire at midnight on May 8th as proposed.
Turkey and the UN’s proposed 72-hour ceasefire was designed as a humanitarian gesture to allow aid deliveries, prisoner exchanges and repairs of critical infrastructure. Both Kyiv and Moscow expressed cautious acceptance to this proposal over the weekend.
However, renewed violence just hours before its implementation has caused analysts and diplomats to express skepticism over it. “This could be seen as either a last-minute show of force by both sides or an indicator that key factions on both sides may not agree with all aspects of the ceasefire terms,” according to Olga Petrenko of Kyiv Institute of Peace Studies.
The United Nations issued an urgent plea for restraint and said both countries must abide by their public commitments to de-escalation. A spokesperson from the UN confirmed that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remains “actively engaged” with both sides in efforts to salvage a ceasefire agreement.
As midnight draws closer, millions of civilians in Ukraine and its border regions anxiously anticipate any sort of truce that might bring at least temporary relief after two years of continuous war.