Russia ceasefire proposal called 'manipulation' by Ukraine

Ukraine has appeared to dismiss Russia's latest offer of a temporary ceasefire, calling instead for a full 30-day pause in fighting to allow for further negotiations. 

The Kremlin has said it will suspend hostilities for 72 hours starting from midnight on May 7. 

This will coincide with national commemorations across Russia to mark Victory Day, when Russia celebrates its victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the decision had been made on "humanitarian grounds." But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the offer as "another attempt at manipulation", stating "we value people's lives and not parades." 

The Kremlin says it is awaiting a formal response from Kyiv to the proposal and added it was "very difficult to understand" whether Ukraine intended to join the ceasefire plan. 

However, it added that any violations by the Ukrainians during the truce would be met with an "adequate and effective response" by Russian armed forces. The last unilateral ceasefire announced by Putin, over the Easter holiday, led to claims of multiple violations on both sides. 

Before the latest offer from Moscow, Washington said that the U.S. Secretary of State had told his Russian counterpart that the White House remains committed to ending "this senseless war". 

Marco Rubio underlined the "need to end the war now" in a phone call with Sergei Lavrov on Sunday. 

As the conflict continued to rage, a twelve-year old girl was reported killed in the latest Russian drone strikes on Ukraine. Kyiv says another child was also rescued from underneath the rubble, after the strike in Dnipropetrovsk region. 

Ukraine's military said it shot down 40 of 166 Russian drone missiles on Monday. A gas facility was hit in the central Cherkasy region and damage was caused to buildings in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and also in Ukraine's capital. 

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former prime minister, has said NATO's newest members could be the target of nuclear weapons in the event of a wider European conflict breaking out.

Medvedev, who is the current deputy of Russia's security council, says "the non-aligned status" of states including Sweden and Finland, enjoyed "certain international perks, given their geopolitical position.. and are (now) part of a bloc hostile to us."

The Russian defense ministry says its troops have captured the village of Doroshivka in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. On Monday Russia said it had taken control of another village in Kharkiv, eight kilometers from the Russian border.