Hours before ceasefire due to begin, attacks in Russia and Ukraine continuepublished at 06:56 British Summer Time

06:56 BST

A drone exploding over Kyiv on Wednesday morningImage source, Reuters

Image caption,

A drone exploding over Kyiv on Wednesday morning

Russian drone and missile strikes have killed two people in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and injured at least six others – including four children – local
officials say.

Overnight strikes also injured four people in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian police say.

On the other side of the border, Russia’s air defence forces say they repelled 14 drones flying towards Moscow overnight.

It is the third night in a row that Ukraine has targeted Moscow, and the second night in a row that airports in the capital have been forced to temporarily close.

The attacks come hours before a three-day ceasefire – announced by Vladimir Putin – is due to begin. Putin says attacks will stop at midnight local time (22:00 BST) – although Ukraine has dismissed the truce as “theatrical”.

The ceasefire was called to mark Victory Day – on Friday, foreign leaders will gather in Moscow’s Red Square for a massive parade that commemorates Nazi Germany’s surrender in World War Two.