REUTERS, Kyiv

A Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure killed five people overnight, officials said yesterday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced Moscow’s ceasefire offer as cynical amid continuing strikes.

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.

Zelensky condemned the attacks after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday proposed 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,” Zelensky 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.

Zelensky countered by proposing his own pause in fighting, starting on the night of May 5-6, without specifying a timeframe, and said Ukraine would “act symmetrically from the specified moment.”

He has repeatedly said Ukraine needs a long‑term ceasefire.