Russian attack on gas facility in Poltava region kills three energy firm employees and two emergency service workers
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the Kremlin of “utter cynicism” for killing five people in overnight strikes at the same time as seeking a truce so it can stage a military parade in Moscow.
Three employees of the state energy firm Naftogaz were killed in an initial attack on a gas facility in Ukraine’s central Poltava region, and two emergency service workers died at the scene in a follow-on bombing. Thirty-seven people were injured in the strikes.
The Ukrainian president said: “It is utter cynicism to ask for a ceasefire in order to hold propaganda celebrations while carrying out missile and drone strikes every single day leading up to it. Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses.”
Vladimir Putin has announced a unilateral ceasefire around Russia marking the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany on Friday. For the first time in almost 20 years, the Red Square parade will take place without military hardware, amid fears Ukraine will target the event with long-range drones.
