On the night of May 28-29, 2026, Russia launched 232 drones and one Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missile at Ukraine from Oryol, Kursk, Bryansk, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and occupied Hvardiiske and Chauda in Crimea. Ukrainian air defense forces shot down or jammed 217 drones. The ballistic missile and 14 strike drones hit 14 locations, and debris fell at seven additional sites. The attack remained ongoing with several drones still in Ukrainian airspace. A school in Chernihiv region was completely burned down by a Geran-type drone strike.

Background: Ukrainian Azov Corps drone operators have been conducting reconnaissance and strike missions over Mariupol, targeting Russian military equipment and logistics routes up to 160 km from the front line. Today: Ukrainian Defense Intelligence (HUR) announced that its drone operators have established fire control over sections of the highway linking Crimea to Donbas via Berdyansk, Melitopol, and Dzhankoi, effectively cutting the land corridor. HUR drone teams struck Russian fuel tankers, trucks, and a trailer along the occupied land corridor, releasing footage of burning vehicles and warning 'more to come.' The loitering munitions and Shark-M reconnaissance drones used were partly funded by the Serhii Prytula Charitable Foundation. Zaporizhzhia governor Ivan Fedorov stated the route is no longer functional for Russian military logistics, while occupied cities face infrastructure collapse.

Russian forces conducted coordinated drone attacks on Naftogaz Group oil and gas infrastructure in Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, with strikes lasting nearly a full day. One facility in Sumy Oblast was hit twice hours apart. Fires broke out and damage was recorded. Naftogaz CEO Serhii Koretskyi noted that attacks on the company's facilities have become systematic, occurring almost daily. Critical infrastructure in Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts remains under persistent drone attack.

Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi previously warned of a possible Russian operation from Belarus and reported a Russian concentration of about 99,000 personnel in the Pokrovsk direction. During a subsequent working trip to the Donetsk region, Syrskyi reported that new 'middle strike' approaches are already impacting the front lines, including improved coordination and deployment of additional units. He identified the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration as a key hotspot, noted that Russian forces are using small infantry groups but failing to achieve their goals, and stated that Ukrainian forces are intensifying operations in some sectors, inflicting heavy losses. Additionally, he held meetings with military leadership, reviewed proposals, and made on-site decisions regarding ammunition and logistical needs.

The Ukrainian Air Force issued a nationwide missile threat warning on Friday after detecting the takeoff of a Russian MiG-31K aircraft, which is capable of launching Kh-47M2 Kinzhal ballistic missiles. Regional authorities activated air raid alerts across all of Ukraine, urging residents to take shelter. This marks a heightened alert posture amid ongoing hostilities.

Colonel Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces, reported that Russian command has tasked the 7th Air Assault Division with capturing Stepnohirsk by the end of June. Heavy fighting continues on the Huliaipole and Orikhiv axes, with Russia increasing drone and aviation use, including up to 2,000 drone strikes per day in the south. Ukrainian forces are counterattacking near Stepnohirsk, Plavni, and Prymorske, while Russia redeploys additional units including the 137th Airborne Regiment and 74th Motorized Rifle Regiment to the area. The situation remains difficult as Russia shows no signs of shortages in ammunition or manpower.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported 267 combat engagements over the past 24 hours as of 08:00 on May 29, 2026, with the most intense fighting in the Pokrovsk sector (46 assaults repelled) and Huliaipole sector (32 assaults). Russian forces conducted one missile strike, 86 airstrikes using 269 guided bombs, and deployed 7,881 kamikaze drones. Ukrainian defenders repelled attacks across multiple axes including Kupiansk, Lyman, Kramatorsk, and Kostiantynivka. No signs of enemy offensive group formation were detected on the Volyn and Polissia axes.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced on May 29, 2026, that he will seek to revoke the Order of the White Eagle awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following Zelenskyy's May 26 decree granting the honorary title 'Heroes of the UPA' to a Ukrainian special operations unit. The UPA is held responsible by Poland for WWII-era massacres of ethnic Poles. Nawrocki, a historian and former head of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, stated the decision wounds the memory of victims and provides fuel for Russian propaganda. The move escalates a long-standing historical dispute between the two allies, straining relations despite continued security cooperation against Russia.

Ukrainian drone-maker Skyfall has upgraded its Vampire bomber drones with jam-resistant navigation and communication systems, including a Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna and terrain-matching navigation. The upgraded drones recently destroyed a rare Russian Borisoglebsk-2 jamming vehicle worth up to $200 million. The Vampires, also used for supply missions, are part of a broader Ukrainian campaign that has destroyed 81 Russian air defense systems since March 2026. The upgrades allow the drones to operate deeper into Russian-controlled territory and target the jammers protecting other assets.

Ukraine's Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, previously reported that newly manufactured components from 2025 were found in Russian drones used to attack Ukraine, including a Transit Brd activation module identified for the first time. He now states that 25% of American components in Russian weapons are counterfeit, with serial numbers deliberately erased. Ukraine continues to share data on foreign components, including Chinese ones, with respective countries.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has previously reported that Russia's military command provided inaccurate battlefield assessments for months. Now, a leaked Russian Defense Ministry map dated 9 April 2026 claims control over Ukrainian settlements in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast that were never captured, including Orikhiv, Richne, Veselyanka, Zaporozhets, and Zapasne. ISW assesses the map may be authentic and fits a pattern of inflated reporting that has misled the Kremlin. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov claimed on 21 April that troops had taken Veselyanka and entered Zaporozhets, but ISW found no evidence of Russian presence in those areas as of 28 May. The pattern extends to the Kupiansk sector, where Gerasimov and Putin made false claims of capturing the city in late 2025, while Ukrainian forces cleared it by late December. ISW assesses the pattern of exaggerated reporting is leading the Russian leadership to make unrealistic demands, as actual advances have slowed dramatically in 2026, with only 104 square kilometers seized between 1 January and 26 May, compared to 1,619 square kilometers in the same period of 2025. The Financial Times reported on 28 May that Putin believes Russia can take all of Donbas by fall 2026, based on these distorted maps.

Captain Oleksandr Yabchanka of the Da Vinci Wolves regiment presented a scenario at GLOBSEC 2026 in Prague: 20 armed men capture a village on NATO's eastern border, creating a 20-30 km drone kill zone that prevents any armored response. He argues that Russia could execute this with current technology, exploiting NATO's lack of dispersed, survivable drone and robotics manufacturing. Yabchanka, a pediatrician turned drone warfare pioneer, calls for Europe to build a 'big Europe of military capabilities' with decentralized production and low-sky defense systems to deter such hybrid attacks.

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said his recent meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Black Sea Security Forum reduced his skepticism about Zelensky's commitment to ending the war. Poroshenko entered the meeting with distrust but left less skeptical, noting that discussions focused on achieving peace on Ukraine's terms, without territorial concessions. The meeting signals a possible shift in their long-standing political rivalry amid the ongoing war.

Background: Russia has been adapting its Shahed drone campaign by fitting electronic-warfare systems on drones, scaling jet-powered Geran-3 and Geran-4 variants, and shifting attacks toward border-area targets as Ukrainian interception rates rise to 95%. Now, Ukraine's First Deputy Defense Minister Oleksii Vyskub confirmed that Russia has fitted some Shahed drones with electronic warfare jammers to suppress Ukrainian interceptor drones. The jammers are mounted on the rear of the drones and were spotted during recent attacks. Vyskub downplayed the upgrade, noting that Ukrainian interceptor drone kill rates have doubled since early 2026, and Ukraine has fielded more than twice as many interceptors over that period. Russia has also introduced a jet-powered Shahed variant, the Geran-4, designed to outrun existing interceptors. Ukrainian manufacturers are developing faster interceptors to counter the jet-powered drones.

Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Colonel Vladyslav Voloshyn reported that Russia is reinforcing the Kinburn Spit with special forces from the Sevastopol Special Operations Center, fearing Ukrainian attempts to liberate the strategic foothold. The unit is equipped with modern boats, electronic warfare systems, and drones for reconnaissance and anti-landing operations.

Ukraine's SBU, HUR, and Navy dismantled a Black Sea smuggling channel used to supply weapons and Russian drones, including a fiber-optically controlled strike UAV with explosives destined for a terrorist attack in Odesa. Four suspects were detained; the operation involved civilian vessels smuggling tobacco products from occupied Abkhazia via Zmiinyi Island. The scheme was allegedly organized by an Odesa-based businessman cooperating with the FSB.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated in parliament that approximately 8 million Ukrainians are abroad involuntarily due to the war, calling it a growing security challenge. He announced that the government is developing measures to encourage their return, contingent on improved security conditions in Ukraine. Sybiha noted that some host countries may resist their return due to Ukrainians' economic contributions, and that Ukraine will have to compete for its citizens. The EU's Temporary Protection Directive for Ukrainians is currently in force until March 2027, with discussions ongoing about its extension or termination. A UNHCR study projects that over half of current Ukrainian refugees may remain in Europe until 2029 even under a fragile peace scenario.

A Ukrainian civilian recounts surviving a massive Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv on the night of May 23-24, 2026, during the Cannes Film Festival. The attack forced the author and their family to take shelter in a building hallway for seven hours, as missiles struck vertically through the neighborhood. The author contrasts the festival's recognition of Russian suffering with the ongoing Russian aggression killing Ukrainian civilians, highlighting the dissonance between cultural events and wartime reality.

The Center for Counter-Disinformation (CCD) reports that Russian sources are claiming the drone incident in Galați, Romania, was a 'planned provocation by Ukraine' to drag NATO into the war. The CCD notes that Romania, NATO, and the EU have confirmed the drone was Russian, undermining Russia's narrative. The Russian ambassador was summoned to the Romanian Foreign Ministry in connection with the drone strike on a high-rise building in Galați.

Russian forces attacked the city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring three people, including two elderly women, and damaging a multi-story residential building. Windows and balconies were shattered, one entrance lost gas supply, and emergency crews are responding. The attack occurred in the Oleksandrivskyi district, also damaging four apartment buildings and non-residential premises.

On the morning of May 18, Kyiv and several Ukrainian regions were placed under air raid alerts due to a ballistic missile threat from Russian missile-capable aircraft, including the MiG-31K which can carry the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile. The alert lasted about an hour before being lifted. Ballistic missile warnings are among the most urgent due to short flight times, leaving civilians little time to seek shelter.

Background: Russian forces have been conducting repeated drone and artillery strikes on Ukraine's Chernihiv region, damaging civilian infrastructure and residential areas. On the night of May 29, a Russian Geran-type drone strike on the village of Masheve in the Novhorod-Siverskyi district completely destroyed the local school building and all property inside. No civilian casualties were reported. The attack is part of ongoing Russian strikes on civilian infrastructure in the region.

Sweden has provided a second guarantee to the World Bank, enabling a €236 million loan to Ukraine under the PEACE support programme. The loan will cover essential public expenditures such as pensions, public-sector salaries, and assistance for vulnerable groups and internally displaced persons. The guarantee is valid until 2056, and Sweden's total guarantees for Ukraine now amount to approximately €280 million. This is a separate bilateral contribution distinct from the EU's €90 billion loan package.

Robert Vass, founder of the Globsec strategic forum, argues that Europe should look to Ukraine's technological and industrial emergence as a model for its own rearmament amid US disengagement. He stresses that Europe must build its own power and prepare for a scenario where the US is no longer a reliable security guarantor.

Japan announced a contribution of more than $14 million to NATO's PURL initiative, exclusively for non-lethal equipment for Ukraine. The contribution will be coordinated with NATO and is part of Japan's ongoing support for Ukraine and strengthening Japan-NATO cooperation. The non-lethal equipment is expected to correspond to the support provided through NATO's CAP Trust Fund, to which Japan has contributed previously.

Colonel Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for the Southern Defense Forces, stated that Russian forces are producing staged videos to falsely claim the capture of Dobropasove and Stepove in Dnipropetrovsk region. Intelligence shows Russian units are 10-20 km from these towns, which remain under Ukrainian control. This disinformation effort aims to create a false narrative of Russian advances.

Background: Russian shelling in Donetsk region has killed and wounded civilians, including a May 17 attack on Malotaranivka. On May 29, Russian forces conducted an airstrike on the residential area of Malotaranivka, damaging 16 residential buildings and injuring one person. Rescue workers extinguished a fire covering 15 square meters and provided medical assistance to the victim.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine denied Russian claims that the village of Novovasylivka in Kharkiv region was captured. Ukrainian forces repelled an assault by Russian motorized rifle regiments, killing four and capturing one. The military stated Novovasylivka remains under full Ukrainian control and reported demoralization among Russian troops.