In this photo, provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drone and missile strikes carried out overnight and later on Tuesday killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 80 others, Ukrainian authorities said, hours before Kyiv was due to enact a ceasefire and three days before Moscow promised its own pause in hostilities.

On Tuesday afternoon, powerful Russian glide bombs smashed into the eastern city of Kramatorsk, the southern city of Zaporizhzhia and the northern city of Chernihiv, killing at least 17 civilians and wounding 45 others, officials said.

Attacks the previous night killed five people and wounded 39, according to authorities.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rebuked Moscow for what he said was its “utter cynicism” in launching the attacks after Russia announced a unilateral ceasefire over two days later this week while it marks the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

“Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “Peace is needed, and real steps are needed to achieve it. Ukraine will act in kind.”

The Russian Defense Ministry declared a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine for Friday and Saturday, but said that it would strike back at the country, if it tries to disrupt the festivities on Victory Day, which Russia marks annually on May 9.

Zelenskyy replied that Ukraine would observe a ceasefire beginning at the end of Tuesday and would respond in kind to Russia’s actions from that moment on. He didn’t put an end date on the move.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the unilateral ceasefires and “looks forward to their successful implementation,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The U.N. chief reiterated his call for “a full, immediate, unconditional and lasting ceasefire, leading to a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace, in line with the U.N. Charter, international law and relevant U.N. resolutions.”

Moscow’s proposal to stop fighting follows a familiar pattern of Russia declaring short unilateral ceasefires during the war timed to various holidays, most recently Orthodox Easter. Those suspensions of combat don’t produce any tangible results amid deep mistrust between Moscow and Kyiv more than four years after Russia launched an all-out invasion of its neighbor. U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the war have come to nothing.

Zelenskyy was in Bahrain on Tuesday where he met with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, proposing a bilateral drone defense partnership amid the Iran war.

The Ukrainian leader said that he offered to share Ukraine’s air defense expertise with Bahrain, drawing a parallel between Iranian attacks on Gulf states and Russia’s daily aerial strikes on Ukrainian territory, which often use Shahed drones initially developed by Iran.

Zelenskyy said last month that Ukrainian officials are helping Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan with drone expertise and air defense.