Ukraine says Russia hit 8 settlements 220 times during ceasefire

Russia hit eight Ukrainian settlements near a frontline 220 times during ceasefire, governor of the Zaporizhzhia region Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging platform early on Friday.

Ukraine said Russia had repeatedly violated its own 3-day ceasefire hours after it began on Thursday and called the initiative a "farce", while Moscow said Kyiv had continued fighting.

The villages in Zaporizhzhia were hit by 150 drones and 70 artillery rounds in the past 24 hours, he said.

The ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin came into force in the early hours of Thursday.

"Predictably, Putin's 'Parade ceasefire' proves to be a farce," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X, referring to the truce which coincides with a May 9 parade on Moscow's Red Square to commemorate the end of World War II.

"Russian forces continue to attack across the entire frontline," Sybiha wrote. "From midnight to midday, Russia committed 734 ceasefire violations and 63 assault operations, 23 of which are still ongoing."

He said Kyiv was notifying the United States and European states about Russia's actions.

The Russian defence ministry, cited by Interfax news agency, said that Ukraine, in turn, had carried out 488 attacks on Russian targets and twice tried to break through the border in the Kursk region.

The two sides did not immediately comment on each other's battlefield reports, which Reuters could not independently confirm.