On the night of May 18, the aggressor conducted attack on Ukraine, utilizing 273 drones in one night, a record amount. Ukraine’s air defense destroyed 88 drones, while another 128 decoy drones were defeated through electronic warfare. The Kyiv region suffered from this attack, resulting in the death of a woman and three others being hospitalized with injuries, alongside the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.
The previous morning on May 17, Russian troops targeted an evacuation bus with a drone while it was leaving the city of Bilopillya, Sumy region. Nine people lost their lives in the attack, and seven more were injured. The UN labeled this assault the deadliest since April 24 2025, when an attack in Kyiv killed at least 11 civilians and injured 81.
In response, President Zelenskyy called on Ukraine’s partners to impose stronger sanctions against Russia, while Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko described the attack as a manifestation of genocide.
Russia has not weakened its positions on the front; it has concentrated a force of up to 640,000 people to continue its war against Ukraine.