Russia pounds Kyiv with heavy fire as eastern advance slows

Russia launched more than 1,400 drones and 56 missiles at Ukraine on May 13 and 14, primarily targeting the capital, Kyiv. The assault came just days after Moscow threatened to do so if Ukraine attacked the Victory Day parade (May 9) at Red Square in Moscow — a key Russian holiday marking the end of World War II.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a ceasefire starting May 5. Moscow did not respond until May 7, offering a unilateral peace initiative, with a threat of retaliation if Kyiv did not respect the terms. Moscow declared that front-line units would “launch a massive missile strike” on central Kyiv if attacked.

Russia fired 43 drones and several ballistic missiles at Ukraine on May 9, followed by 27 more drones on May 10. Only on May 11 did Ukraine enjoy a peaceful day. Moscow justified these attacks as retaliation for Ukrainian strikes, while Kyiv accused Russia of breaking its own ceasefire.

As soon as the ceasefire ended, on the night of May 11, Russia launched 216 drones, followed by a massive volley of 892 drones on the night of May 12 and into May 13. The night of May 13–14 was even worse: 675 drones and 56 missiles.

Official Ukrainian reports recorded attacks at least 20 locations in the capital, including a nine-story apartment block collapse that killed 12 people. “These are ordinary residential buildings, a school, a veterinary clinic and other purely civilian infrastructure,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “This is certainly not the action of people who believe the war is about to end.”

Over the week, Ukraine claimed to have shot down 92% of the 1,930 drones launched — close to Zelensky’s target of 95% — along with 41 of 57 missiles intercepted.

Russia’s advance slows

Russia’s ferocious assault came as its forces in eastern Ukraine slowed down. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) estimated they advanced an average of just 2.9 km²/day in the first four months of 2026, compared to 9.76 km²/day in the first third of 2025 and 14.9 km²/day from October 2024 to March 2025. In the first two weeks of May, the daily average dropped to 2.63 km², suggesting Russia’s momentum is slowing almost every day.

ISW recently estimated that Ukraine regained a net 116 km² of territory in April — its first advance since the September 2023 counteroffensive. Part of that success is credited to Ukraine’s effective use of drones in the rear areas.

On May 8, the Azov Regiment of Ukraine’s National Guard claimed to have “returned to Mariupol,” nearly four years to the day after the city fell. The unit released drone footage of strikes on Russian diesel tankers, military trucks and other logistics vehicles 160 km from the front line along the T-0509 highway, a key supply route for Russia’s military campaign in Donetsk. “The range will increase,” the Azov Regiment declared.

These strikes are part of a broader Ukrainian campaign targeting Russian logistics at medium range — 120 to 150 km from the front line — as Zelensky announced in late April. “This mainly concerns enemy military logistics, ammunition depots and command posts, air defense systems and other components,” he said, adding that Ukraine had increased such strikes fivefold over the past year.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said this week: “We are carrying out about 5,000 successful strikes at depths greater than 20 km per month.” A Russian war correspondent also noted that Ukrainian Hornet drones were targeting Russian logistics on roads near the front: “Although the front line is more than 35 km away, it is now paralyzed due to enemy drone surveillance.”

Russia’s decline is not due to lack of effort. Ukrainian army commander Oleksandr Syrskii said on May 8: “The enemy has intensified offensive operations along almost the entire front and is regrouping its forces. The most tense area is currently the Pokrovsk direction, where the Russian invaders have concentrated about 106,000 troops.”

Since March, Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russian oil infrastructure up to 1,700 km inside Russian territory, aiming to cripple the war machine. Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, said the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) attacked the Yaroslavl oil refinery and the Perm oil pumping station on May 8. Russian media reports said a fire from an earlier attack on the pumping station was not extinguished until May 11. The SBU also reported striking the Perm refinery on the same day.

During the week, Ukrainian forces also struck drone bases and radar research centers in Rostov-on-Don, a chemical plant in Bryansk, an explosives storage facility in Nizhny Novgorod and other targets. Fedorov on Monday thanked Germany for investing $1 billion in Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities as his German counterpart Boris Pistorius visited Kyiv.

“Overall, Ukraine’s position right now — on the front line, in long-range sanctions, and in coordination with partners — is the strongest it has been in years,” Zelensky said.