KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Russia and Ukraine both reported attacks on their forces Thursday on the first day of a called by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian lawmakers unanimously approved with the U.S.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister accused Russia of violating its own ceasefire 734 times between midnight and midday Thursday. He called the ceasefire a 鈥渇arce鈥� on the social media platform X.
The unilateral ceasefire coincides with Russia鈥檚 biggest secular holiday, the . Kyiv has pressed for a longer-term ceasefire.
Meanwhile at the Kremlin, Putin welcomed , whom Putin earlier described as Russia鈥檚 鈥渕ain guest鈥� at Friday鈥檚 Victory Day festivities. Xi arrived Wednesday for a four-day visit.
The Ukrainian parliament's ratification of the minerals deal marked a key step that will allow Washington access to Ukraine鈥檚 largely untapped minerals, deepen strategic ties and create a joint investment fund with the U.S. for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
鈥淭his document is not merely a legal construct, it is the foundation of a new model of interaction with a key strategic partner,鈥� Ukraine's economics minister, Yuliia Svyrydenko, wrote on X.
was approved by all 338 members of parliament, far surpassing the required 226 votes, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak wrote on his Telegram account. No lawmaker abstained.
In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked everyone involved in the deal and said he expected the ratified agreement to be submitted to his office soon.
"Once the legal procedures are complete, we will be able to begin establishing the fund,鈥� he said.
Two more technical agreements will have to be developed and signed by both sides, Svyrydenko said. Those deals include 鈥渁 limited partnership agreement and an agreement that essentially determines how the fund will function,鈥� she told reporters ahead of the vote.
She said the U.S. expects the work on the documents to take 鈥渨eeks, not months.鈥�
U.S. President Donald Trump said he planned to talk with Zelenskyy later Thursday following the ratification.
Russian bombs hit Ukraine in first hours of ceasefire
In the opening hours of Moscow's ceasefire, Russian bombs struck northeast Ukraine, killing at least one civilian, Ukrainian officials said. Artillery assaults took place across the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, although with less intensity than in the previous 24 hours, officials said.
Sybiha said Russia carried out 63 assaults along the front line, 23 of which were still ongoing as of midday. Ukraine responded "appropriately,鈥� he said, and shared information about the attacks with the U.S, the European Union and others.
鈥淲e will not let Putin fool anyone when he does not even keep his own word,鈥� Sybiha said.
Russian attacks also took place near Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region, Oleh Petrasiuk, a spokesman with Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade, told The Associated Press by phone.
One person died and two were wounded when Russian forces dropped guided bombs on residential areas near the border in the northeast Sumy region, the regional prosecutor's office said.
Large-scale missile and drone attacks, which have been a near-daily occurrence in Ukraine in recent weeks, abated for a short time, with no assaults recorded since 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Ukrainian air force said.
Zelenskyy had previously cast doubt on the ceasefire, calling it 鈥渕anipulation鈥� as U.S.-led peace efforts stalled. 鈥淔or some reason, everyone is supposed to wait until May 8 before ceasing fire 鈥� just to provide Putin with silence for his parade,鈥� Zelenskyy said.
In March, the United States proposed a 30-day truce in the war, which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for ceasefire .
The Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of attacking its positions and said Russian forces would continue to 鈥渕irror鈥� Ukraine鈥檚 actions during the Kremlin鈥檚 ceasefire.
The Russian regions of Belgorod, Lipetsk, Orenburg, Ryazan and Tambov came under a drone-threat alert overnight, but there were no reports of any drones being shot down or intercepted. Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia briefly imposed restrictions on flights to and from the airport in Nizhny Novgorod.
Putin praises relations with Xi
In welcoming Xi, Putin said that 鈥渢he brotherhood of arms between our peoples, which developed during the harsh war years, is one of the fundamental foundations of modern Russian-Chinese relations.鈥�
He added that Moscow and Beijing were developing ties 鈥渇or the benefit of the peoples of both countries and not against anyone.鈥�
Xi, in turn, said that 鈥渉istory and reality have fully proved that the continuous development and deepening of China-Russia relations is a necessity for the friendship between the two peoples from generation to generation." He also called for safeguarding 鈥渋nternational fairness and justice.鈥�
Putin and Xi have met over 40 times and developed strong personal ties as both countries face tensions with the West.
China offered robust diplomatic support to Moscow after its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has emerged as a top market for Russian oil and gas, helping to fill the Kremlin鈥檚 war coffers. Russia has relied on China as the main source of machinery and electronics to keep its military running after Western sanctions curtailed high-tech supplies.
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Associated Press journalist Evgeniy Maloletka contributed to this report.
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Illia Novikov, The Associated Press
