Star Metro - Russian strikes kill 21 in Ukraine

The attacks -- hitting the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk and Dnipro -- came hours before a Ukrainian-suggested ceasefire.

In Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine's southern city close to the frontline, 12 people were killed in an attack Zelensky described as having "absolutely no military justification".

Moscow also pounded Dnipro and Kramatorsk.

Russia has demanded that Kyiv agree to a ceasefire for its May 9 World War II Victory Day commemorations.

"We need silence from such strikes and all others like them every single day, not just for a few hours somewhere out there for 'celebrations'," Zelensky said, calling on allies to condemn the attacks.

Kyiv has instead said it will halt fire over May 6.

But Russia attacked the city of Dnipro late on Tuesday, nearing Kyiv's deadline.

"With mere hours until Ukraine’s ceasefire proposal comes into force, Russia shows no signs of preparing to end hostilities. On the contrary, Moscow intensifies terror," Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiga said on X.

Zelensky said four civilians were killed in Dnipro.

Five others, he said, were killed when Russia attacked the centre of the eastern city of Kramatorsk -- the last hub under Kyiv's control in the embattled Donetsk region.

"The attack hit right in the city centre, targeting civilians," he said, warning the death toll could rise.

The attacks came after several people were killed overnight and as Russia geared up for its patriotic May 9 event this weekend.

At least 70 people were also wounded in Tuesday's strikes, according to numbers released by officials.

The strikes were the deadliest in weeks.

- Intensifying strikes -

In Russia, officials said a Ukrainian drone attack on the Volga city of Cheboksary killed two people.

Regional authorities said 32 people were wounded after the drone slammed into an apartment block, hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine.

Russia's May 9 parade is typically a bombastic display of military strength, which since 2022 has sought to link Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with the invasion of Ukraine.

But the Kremlin ordered a scaled-back version this year -- with no military hardware to be on display -- over the fear it could be targeted by Ukraine.

Moscow also cut mobile internet throughout the Russian capital on Tuesday morning ahead of the parade, with operators reporting restrictions would last until Saturday.

Kyiv has intensified its retaliatory long-range strikes in recent weeks, hitting a spate of Russian oil facilities and a luxury high-rise building in Moscow.

It calls the strikes fair retaliation for Russia's nightly bombing of its cities with drones and missiles.

- 'Vile' -

Overnight, a Russian strike killed four people -- employees of state energy firm Naftogaz and first responders -- in the central Poltava region -- triggering outrage in Kyiv.

"Two of the killed were first responders, killed in a vile double-tap strike targeting those who arrived to help people at the scene of the attack," Foreign Minister Sybiga said, denouncing Moscow's "criminal tactics".

The state emergency service said Russia fired four missiles at the site after an earlier drone hit, publishing video of a fireball erupting at the facility.

One person was also killed in the northeastern Kharkiv region as Russia fired 11 ballistic missiles and 164 drones across the country, according to authorities.

Ukraine has meanwhile intensified attacks deep inside Russia, with authorities nervous about security for the weekend events.

Short-term ceasefires are not infrequent, with the two sides having suspended long-range attacks over Orthodox Easter last month.

There is no sign that the four-year war is close to being resolved at the negotiating table.

M.Johnson--SMC