Ukraine's defence forces: Despite Putin's declared "truce", fighting on front continues
Despite Kremlin statements about a so-called "ceasefire" declared for Victory Day, Russian forces continue assaults and attacks along several fronts in Ukraine, including the Pokrovsk, Toretsk, Lyman, Vovchansk, Kramatorsk and Novopavlivka fronts. [Victory Day is a Russian holiday commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, celebrated on 9 May – ed.]
Source: Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group, on the national joint 24/7 newscast
Quote: "The enemy is less active, and there were no combat clashes on some fronts this morning. However, active fighting took place on a number of fronts, so we are not talking about any ceasefire.
There were assault actions starting at midnight, when this supposed truce took effect – on the Lyman front, on the Vovchansk front, directly in the city of Vovchansk, in the town of Chasiv Yar on the Kramatorsk front, in the city of Toretsk and in Shcherbynka on the Toretsk front, and on the Pokrovsk front – with active attempts to advance along the entire front line. The same goes for the Novopavlivka front. So to say that they proclaimed some sort of ceasefire – as we can see, there is no sight of it on the battlefield or in the rear."
Details: Trehubov noted that the Pokrovsk front remains one of the toughest. Ukrainian forces are engaged in defensive battles there. Russian troops are attempting to carry out assault operations west of the city, east of the urban agglomeration – along the Pokrovsk–Kostiantynivka road – and slightly further south to reinforce efforts on the Novopavlivka front.
Quote: "In total, 65 [combat clashes] – that's not as many as on some past days, but it's currently the most intense front, the most intense section of the front. And the Russians are not giving up their attempts to improve their tactical position around the city – either to cross the Pokrovsk–Kostiantynivka road to complicate the connection between these cities, or to reach the road to Pavlohrad… or somehow support those forces trying to advance along the Novopavlivka front towards the border with Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, which, as of now, they have not managed to do. And as they planned, they will not succeed by 9 May."
Background:
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that no Russian drones have been detected in the air since the start of 8 May, although Moscow has stepped up airstrikes using tactical aircraft.
One person was killed and two others injured in Russian guided aerial bomb attacks on Sumy Oblast on the night of 7-8 May.
On 28 April, the Kremlin announced that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin had unilaterally declared a "truce" to mark the 80th anniversary of victory in the Second World War.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Putin's initiative to declare a three-day ceasefire a theatrical performance aimed at creating an illusion of Russia's exit from international isolation, and instead insisted on a 30-day truce, as proposed by the United States.
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