"utter cynicism" for launching deadly strikes while seeking a truce to stage its May 9 patriotic parade. The attacks on Tuesday -- hitting the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk and Dnipro -- came hours before a Ukrainian-suggested ceasefire. In Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine's southern city close to the frontline, 12 people were killed in an attack Zelensky described as having "absolutely no military justification". Early Wednesday, the head of the Crimea region, which Russia annexed in 2014 from Ukraine, said Ukrainian drone strikes had killed five civilians. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to the State Department. The two, who spoke at Lavrov's request, "discussed the US-Russia relationship, the Russia-Ukraine war, and Iran," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said, without giving details. Russia has demanded that Kyiv agree to a ceasefire for its May 9 World War II Victory Day commemorations. "We need silence from such strikes and all others like them every single day, not just for a few hours somewhere out there for 'celebrations'," Zelensky said, calling on allies to condemn the attacks. Kyiv has instead said it will halt fire over May 6. (Bssnews)