A Kremlin-proposed cease-fire to mark Victory Day collapsed within hours, as Ukraine and Russia reported hundreds of violations a day before a scaled-down military parade in Moscow.
“There was not even a token attempt at a cease-fire on the front,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said early on May 8, reporting Russian shelling, attempted assaults along the front line, and drone strikes.
Ukraine’s Air Forces reported 67 Russian drones have attacked the country overnight, as Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oleksandr Hanzha said key eastern region was attacked “with drones, artillery, and a missile” at least 30 times.
Hanzha reported that the strikes have injured three people. “More than 10 private homes and vehicles were damaged,” he added.
Zelenskyy promised “Ukraine will respond in kind,” for the strikes.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported it has shot down hundreds of Ukrainian drones and six of its domestically made Neptune cruise missiles.
User-generated footage spread over Ukrainian and Russian Telegram channels showed pillars of smoke rising in Russia’s Rostov, Yaroslavl, Perm, and Chechnya regions.
Local authorities in Russia’s Rostov and Perm regions confirmed the strikes, while Zelenskyy shared footage that he said showed a fire at an oil facility in Yaroslavl. It “played a major role in financing Russia’s war,” he said.
Separately, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also reported Ukrainian strikes, saying the latest attack on the capital was “one of the largest” so far in 2026.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it “responded in kind to violations of the cease-fire and carried out retaliatory strikes.”
The Kremlin has proposed a cease-fire with Ukraine on May 8-9, to coincide with Russia’s celebration of Victory Day with military parade on Moscow’s Red Square.
Kyiv rejected the proposal, and countered with a cease-fire that had been set to run from May 6, proposing a more lasting truce to end the war.
“If the one person in Moscow who cannot live without war cares only about one parade and nothing else, that’s a different story,” Zelenskyy said on May 6.
Under President Vladimir Putin, Victory Day become one of the year’s most important, a grandiose celebration of Soviet and Russian military history, as well as Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
This year, however, military equipment will reportedly be absent from the traditional parade, and, so far, fewer than 10 dignitaries are expected to attend it, including Putin’s longtime ally, Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko.
According to Zelenskyy, some leaders reached out to Kyiv, saying their officials plan to attend the parade. “An odd desire… these days. We don’t recommend it,” he said.
Earlier in the week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced additional measures were being taken due to “the rather complex operational situation” due to what he called the “terrorist threat” from Ukraine.
