KYIV, Ukraine, May 10, (AP): Two months ago, following high-level talks between Ukrainian and American delegations in the Saudi city of Jeddah, the United States proposed an unconditional 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly announced on that same day that Ukraine was ready to accept the proposal, provided Russia did the same.

The Russian leader balked, saying a temporary break in hostilities would only benefit Ukraine and its Western allies by letting them replenish their arsenals. Since then, Russia has continued its military campaign, maintaining attacks along the roughly 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) front line and targeting civilian infrastructure. In some cases, it has stepped up its attacks on residential areas with no obvious military targets.

An Associated Press tally based on reports from Ukrainian authorities found at least 117 civilians have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in Russian aerial attacks since Ukraine announced on March 11 its willingness for a ceasefire - all of them attacks involving long-range drones and a variety of missiles. The tally does not include casualties caused by short-range weapons, including mortars, multiple launch rocket systems, S-300 and S-400 ballistic missiles, drone-dropped explosives and aerial glide bombs, which Russia continues to use along the front line and nearby areas.

Ukrainian officials do not provide overall casualty figures nor do they release official figures on how many Ukrainian troops have been killed on the battlefield. Among the deadliest attacks recently was a Russian ballistic missile that struck in the packed center of Sumy in northeast Ukraine on a busy Palm Sunday morning in mid-April.

At least 35 people, including two children, were killed and around 120 wounded. Another blasted a playground in Zelenskyy's hometown, killing 20 people including nine children. A deadly barrage targeting the capital Kyiv prompted rare criticism from President Donald Trump for the Russian leader. "Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. In the past two months, Putin has twice unilaterally declared a brief ceasefire, one for Easter and the other to mark Victory Day in World War II. Both were repeatedly violated.