Russia Killed 22 Ukrainians — Then Offered a Ceasefire. Zelensky Called It "Utter Cynicism." He Is Right.

On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, hours before a Ukrainian-proposed ceasefire was due to take effect, and three days before Russia's own announced "Victory Day" ceasefire was set to begin, Russian forces launched one of the most devastating single-day attacks in weeks. Glide bombs smashed into the eastern city of Kramatorsk, the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, and the northern city of Chernihiv. Missiles and drones struck energy infrastructure in Poltava and Kharkiv. When emergency workers arrived at the burning Naftogaz gas production facility in Poltava, Russian forces executed a deliberate "double-tap" strike — a second missile fired directly at rescue teams working the first impact site. Two rescuers were killed. Twenty-three more were wounded. In total, Tuesday's attacks killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 80 across Ukraine.

President Zelensky's response was precise and furious. "It is utter cynicism to ask for a ceasefire in order to hold propaganda celebrations while carrying out such missile and drone strikes every single day leading up to it," he said. The target of his contempt was Moscow's declaration, announced the previous day, of a two-day unilateral ceasefire for May 8 and 9 — Victory Day, the annual Russian holiday marking the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Putin made the announcement after a phone conversation with President Trump, framing it as a gesture of goodwill. Zelensky framed it as something else entirely: a tactical pause designed to protect a parade, not save lives.

"Not a single day passes without such Russian attacks on our cities and villages. We need silence from such strikes every single day — not just for a few hours for 'celebrations.'" — President Zelensky, May 5, 2026

The pattern Zelensky is describing is not new, but it has never been more clearly on display. Russia proposed a brief ceasefire for Orthodox Easter in April; both sides accused each other of violating it within hours. Russia proposed a 72-hour ceasefire for Victory Day in 2025; the holiday came and went with no meaningful pause in hostilities. Each time, the Kremlin declares a ceasefire, global media covers it as a peace gesture, and then strikes resume or continue uninterrupted. The Ukrainian position — that short-term holiday ceasefires serve no humanitarian purpose and exist only to provide Russia with a protected window for its symbolic events — is supported by the evidence of three years of this pattern.

What makes this iteration particularly jarring is the scale of Tuesday's attacks in the context of a publicly announced ceasefire. Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed its forces struck Ukrainian defence industry and energy facilities in what it called retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure. Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz reported that its facilities have been attacked 107 times since the start of 2026 alone. Russian forces did not pause their strikes before announcing the ceasefire. They did not pause them on the day the ceasefire was announced. The strikes continued through the deadline — with the most violent attacks of the week occurring in the very hours before the Ukrainian ceasefire was due to begin.

Ukraine, for its part, announced its own ceasefire beginning at midnight on the night of May 5-6, starting earlier than Russia's proposed window and framing it as a demonstration of seriousness. Zelensky said Ukraine would "act symmetrically" — meaning Ukraine would observe a ceasefire if Russia did, and respond militarily if Russia did not. He made no secret of his scepticism. "May 6 will show whether Moscow is serious and what it actually wants — peace or military parades," he wrote on social media.

Meanwhile, Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow — once one of the most spectacular military displays on earth, featuring columns of tanks, intercontinental missile launchers, and tens of thousands of marching troops — has been stripped of all military hardware for the first time in nearly two decades. Russia's defence ministry cited security concerns. Zelensky offered a different interpretation: "They cannot afford military equipment — and they fear drones may buzz over Red Square. This is telling. It shows they are not strong now." The parade will go ahead without weapons. The war will go ahead without pause. And the Ukrainians who died on Tuesday will remain dead regardless of what Moscow celebrates on Friday.

This story exposes the war beneath the war.