Russia attacks Ukraine on the first day of self-declared ceasefire, killing 1 person
KYIV Ukraine AP Russia struck northeastern Ukraine on Thursday in the opening hours of a -hour ceasefire called by Russian President Vladimir Putin killing one person Ukrainian authorities commented The unilateral ceasefire coincides with the celebrations in Moscow for the th anniversary of preeminence over Nazi Germany in World War II Russia s biggest secular holiday Kyiv has pressed for a longer-term ceasefire Putin on Thursday welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Kremlin Xi who Putin earlier described as our main guest at Friday s Achievement Day festivities arrived in Russia on Wednesday for a four-day visit Russian forces dropped guided air bombs on residential areas near the demarcation in the northeast Sumy region killing one and wounded two people the regional prosecutor s office stated Ukraine s air force also commented at least one missile hit the Sumy region until early morning on Thursday Large-scale missile and drone attacks which have been a near-daily occurrence in Ukraine in latest weeks were not recorded since p m Wednesday the air force reported Smaller-scale Russian attacks persisted elsewhere in the country closer to the front line causing civilian casualties it stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cast doubt on the ceasefire calling it manipulation as U S -led peace efforts stalled For various reason everyone is supposed to wait until May before ceasing fire just to provide Putin with silence for his parade Zelenskyy disclosed In March the United States proposed a -day truce in the war which Ukraine accepted but the Kremlin has held out for ceasefire terms more to its liking In Russia authorities explained that the regions of Belgorod Lipetsk Orenburg Ryazan and Tambov came under a drone threat alert overnight but there were no reports of any drones being shot down or intercepted Russia s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia also briefly imposed restrictions on flights to and from the airport in Nizhny Novgorod In welcoming Xi Putin revealed that the brotherhood of arms between our peoples which developed during the harsh war years is one of the fundamental foundations of modern Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation He added that Moscow and Beijing were evolving ties for the benefit of the peoples of both countries and not against anyone Xi in turn noted that history and reality have fully proved that the continuous rise and deepening of China-Russia relations is a necessity for the friendship between the two peoples from generation to generation He also called for safeguarding international fairness and justice Putin and Xi have met over times and developed strong personal ties that bolstered the countries strategic partnership as both face tensions with the West China has offered robust diplomatic help to Moscow after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has emerged as a top sphere for Russian oil and gas helping fill the Kremlin s war coffers Russia has relied on China as the main source of machinery and electronics to keep its military machine running after Western sanctions curtailed high-tech supplies Follow AP s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https apnews com hub russia-ukraine Source
