By Anna Pruchnicka
May 5 (Reuters) – A Russian overnight missile and drone attack on Ukrainian gas production facilities killed five people, including two rescue workers, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday, as Kyiv and Moscow exchanged rival ceasefire proposals.
Serhiy Koretskyi, CEO of Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz, said Russian forces struck gas production facilities in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions. Three Naftogaz employees and two emergency service rescuers were killed, while 37 people were wounded, he said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the attacks, accusing Moscow of “cynicism” after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced a brief ceasefire.
“It is utter cynicism to ask for a ceasefire in order to hold propaganda celebrations while carrying out such missile and drone strikes every single day leading up to it,” Zelenskiy said.
Putin declared a two-day ceasefire on May 8 to 9, to coincide with events marking the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. Zelenskiy countered by proposing his own pause in fighting, starting on the night of May 5 to 6, without giving a timeframe of how long the truce should last.
Zelenskiy also said Russian forces struck critical infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk region, injuring three people and leaving thousands of families without electricity.
Koretskyi said the Naftogaz facilities sustained significant damage and production losses in the attack, which involved drones and ballistic missiles.
FOLLOW-UP STRIKE ON RESCUE WORKERS
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the two rescue workers were killed when Russian forces carried out a follow‑up strike after emergency crews arrived to extinguish a fire caused by an initial attack on the gas facility in the central Poltava region.
Russia regularly carries out so-called “double-tap” strikes on rescue workers responding to initial attacks, Ukrainian officials say.
Klymenko added that 23 rescue workers were hurt. “These are deliberate attacks on those who save lives,” he said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 11 ballistic missiles and 164 drones at Ukraine since 6 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Monday. One missile and 149 drones were shot down or neutralised, it said, but eight missiles and 14 drones struck 14 locations.
Direct hits and falling debris were reported at two sites in the Poltava district, regional governor Vitalii Diakivnych said on the Telegram messaging app.
He added the attack cut gas supply to nearly 3,500 customers.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Kate Mayberry and Ros Russell)
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