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Russia launched a massive drone attack on Ukraine during the night of 25-26 May, marking the third consecutive night of attacks. Ukrainian forces shot down all nine Kh-101 cruise missiles and neutralized 288 out of 355 Shahed-type drones launched from Russian cities, including Bryansk, Millerovo, and Kursk. This represented one of the largest drone operations of the war.
Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast during 25-26 May caused fires and damaged buildings across multiple districts. Russia hit Nikopol district with Grad rockets, artillery, and drones, damaging apartments, houses, and cars in Nikopol and Marhanets communities. An FPV drone struck Malomykhailivka, damaging two houses.
In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russia bombed Yurkivka village after midnight on 26 May, destroying a house and injuring a 60-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man. The explosion damaged nearby homes and cars.
Russian drones struck Odesa Oblast, destroying a 100-square-meter home and damaging building roofs, garages, three cars, a fence, and a gas pipeline. At a second location, two garages destroyed by fire and a vehicle destroyed. No casualties were reported.
A Russian missile destroyed an agricultural company's potato storage in Chernihiv Oblast, causing over 50 million hryvnia in damages. The strike destroyed the storage facility, sorting shop and damaged grain warehouses while destroying tractors, planters, and other machinery. The company that was attacked, Agrico Ukraine, controls over half of Ukraine's seed potato market.
Russia attacked Kyiv city and surrounding regions with drones during a six-hour air raid on 25-26 May. Drone debris broke windows in Kyiv's Dniprovskyi district and hit a garage cooperative, though no one was hurt. Houses and farm buildings were damaged in the Boryspil and Fastiv districts. Cherkasy Oblast destroyed 25 Russian drones with no reported damage.
Near Kherson, a Russian drone dropped explosives on a car in Komyshany, injuring two boys aged 7 and 15. Both children suffered blast injuries and a concussion, with the older boy also sustaining a head injury. Both were hospitalized.
Attacks on Synelnykove district injured three people, set two cars on fire, and damaged agricultural infrastructure. Additional strikes on Kryvyi Rih and Nikopol districts hit solar panels, a nine-storey building, and vehicles.
On the night of 27 May, Russia attacked again with 60 Shahed-type drones from Millerovo, Orel, Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Crimea. Ukraine eliminated 43 enemy drones by 09:00, with 35 shot down by weapons and 8 were downed by electronic warfare. The attacks hit 9 location,s with downed drones reported in 3 areas.
Russia used an FPV drone with an RPG warhead to strike Kharkiv for the first time since the invasion began. Seven strikes during the past week injured 11 people, including a 14-year-old boy witha traumatic brain injury. The attacks hit civilian targets including homes, apartments, a printing house, and offices.
Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said that the Netherlands is working to find ways to include President Zelenskyy in the NATO summit in The Hague. Unlike last year’s full participation, Zelenskyy may have a more limited involvement due to the lack of a Ukraine-NATO Council session. NATO plans to issue a shortened final statement at the upcoming Hague summit. The document may exclude references to Russia or Ukraine. In previous summits, Ukraine was a major topic. This is being done to avoid upsetting Trump.
Ukrainian intelligence official Oleh Ivashchenko reported that Belarus does have missile systems and jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons, but no actual nuclear warheads or Oreshnik ICBMs are currently in the country. He says infrastructure is still under construction, and deployment is unlikely anytime soon. This is in direct contradiction to claims made by both Belarus and Russia.
On May 27, the EU is set to formally approve a $170 billion SAFE common defense fund initiative to loan money to member states, European Free Trade Association countries, and Ukraine to quickly finance weapons procurement. Officials say the initiative could double arms supplies to Ukraine and dramatically improve the EU’s domestic arms production and security as the US wavers in its commitment to a peaceful and stable Europe. The SAFE program is part of the broader €650 billion ReArm Europe plan to ramp up defense spending across the continent.
Sweden will be allocating about $504 million to Ukraine to help fund its defense. About $10.5 million is going to the Demining Capability Coalition for demining equipment. $31.5 million is going to the Drone Coalition to help purchase various drones. The Maritime Capability Coalition will receive $5.2 million to fund training for Ukrainian Navy personnel no. $3.1 million is set aside for the IT Coalition to support Ukraine’s Delta management system. $105 million will be dedicated to “the Danish model” of arms procurement, where European countries buy equipment for Ukraine from Ukraine’s domestic arms industry. $43.9 million will be provided for armored vehicle equipment. Sweden will provide $57.7 million for ammunition procurement; this includes funding for the Czech shell initiative. Finally, over $105 million is being directed atoward air defense systems and long-range drones. This is part of Sweden’s 19th aid package for Ukraine.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States have lifted all restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons for strikes inside Russia. Merz said Ukraine can now hit military targets in Russian territory. Many are taking this to imply that Germany is transferring Taurus missiles to Ukraine, but it could also mean that Germany has or is in the process of providing Ukraine with long-range strike drones or is assisting Ukraine in domestically producing its own long-range strike capabilities.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, expects several US companies to return to Russia in the second quarter of 2025. Dmitriev met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other American officials in Saudi Arabia in February. He claims US companies lost $324 billion by leaving Russia after the 2022 invasion, with IT and media companies losing $123 billion, consumer and healthcare companies lost $94 billion, and finance companies lost $71 billion.
Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service says that Dmitriev is working to unfreeze Russia's $280 billion in frozen assets. Head of Foreign Intelligence Oleh Ivashchenko said that Dmitriev is trying to get the United States to focus on economic cooperation involving Arctic resources, oil, gas, and rare earth minerals rather than just the war and peace talks. This strategy aims to push the Ukrainian issue into the background and hope that the US forgets about the war in pursuit of Russian resources.
Putin called for "throttling" foreign IT services like Microsoft and Zoom that he feels are working against Russia's best interests. He said these companies are trying to strangle Russia and Russia must retaliate.
Lithuania has provided 100 FPV drones to Moldova to strengthen the country's military. Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas announced the transfer after meeting with Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean on May 23. Czech CZ Bren 2 assault rifles have also been spotted in service with the Moldovan Armed Forces.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Moscow and met with Vladimir Medinsky, Putin's aide who led Russia's delegation at the Istanbul negotiations. Fidan is expected to meet with Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his visit.
Germany is studying how to support the Ukrainian defense industry in producing long-range weapons. The topic is likely going to be discussed during Zelenskyy’s visit to Germany on May 28, at the invitation of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Lithuania was the first country to fund long-range weapons for Ukraine, allocating €10 million in September 2024 for the Palianytsia missile drone. President Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine plans to produce 30,000 long-range drones and 3,000 cruise missiles and missile drones in 2025. More than 100 were produced domestically in 2024.
According to Deepstate, Russia controls four settlements in Sumy Oblast as it continues attempts to create a buffer zone along the Ukrainian border. The settlements of Novenke and Basivka in Yunakivka hromada and Veselivka and Zhuravka in Khotin hromada are now under Russian control. Oleh Hryhorov, head of Sumy Oblast Military Administration, stated that residents were evacuated long ago. Fighting continues near several other villages including Vodolaha, Volodymyrivka, Bilovody, Kostiantynivka, Kindrativka, and Loknia.
Ukraine has introduced separate funding for its ballistic missile program. In early May 2025, President Zelenskyy instructed officials to accelerate development. Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine had already allocated several hundred million hryvnias fort missile development, including the Sapsan AKA the Hrim-2. The program has produced two versions of the missile: a 900 mm diameter version with a 500 km range for domestic use, and a 600 mm version with a 280 km range for export. A successful test of Ukraine’s ballistic missile occurred on August 27, 2024. In April 2025, Minister Herman Smetanin said the production rate allowed for regular deployment of the ballistic missile and the long-range Neptune missile.
Germany’s Quantum-Systems has begun the production of Vector drone fuselages in Ukraine. Two Ukrainian facilities are producing all fuselage components and conducting R&D and maintenance. According to Dmytro Horlin, the Ukrainian-made fuselages are stronger and weigh approximately 250 grams less than the German-made versions. New payloads such as acoustic sensors, AI modules, 360-degree rotating cameras, and improved day and night optics are being tested.
The EU Temporary Protection Directive (TPD), introduced in March 2022 to support Ukrainians fleeing the war, is approaching the end of its lifespan. Originally, it was set to last until March 2025, but the European Commission later extended it to last until March 2026. Now, discussions are underway on whether to add one final year or phase out the program. Talks are expected at the No 12–13 June Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting.There may not be a legal way to extend the full program any longer, due to the way the TPD was originally written. There are currently talks underway to figure out how to gracefully deal with the program ending without causing gridlock in the refugee asylum systems of numerous countries.
Ukrainian carried out a strike on a Russian FSB facility in Glotovo, Belgorod region, about 5 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The attack was performed using two French AASM Hammers dropped from a MiG-29. The bombs destroyed much of the building.
Latvia provided 1,500 drones to Ukraine in May 2025 as part of the International Drone Coalition. The drones are part of a larger €17 million order of 12,000 UAVs to be produced in the first half of 2025. Latvia has allocated €5 million to the fund. A previous batch of 1,500 drones was sent at the end of April.
On 5 June, the EU’s Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM) for Ukrainian goods are set to expire. The ATM provided trade preferences to Ukraine since 2022. The EU will not take serious steps to extending this program again until after the June 1 election in Poland, due to the strong farmer opposition there.
Ukraine launched drone attacks against three Russian defense facilities on the night of May 25-26, 2025. The strikes hit the NPO Splav MLRS plant in Tula, the Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant in Ivanovo, and the Shahed drone production facility in Yelabuga, Tatarstan. Russia stated it shot down 96 drones across 12 regions during the attacks. The strikes forced temporary flight restrictions at four Russian airports.
The NPO Splav plant in Tula was damaged for the third time since April 2025. Previous strikes occurred on May 7 and April 7. The facility produces multiple launch rocket systems, heavy flamethrowers, and related ammunition. Russia reported shooting down 9 drones over Tula Oblast during the attack.
Ukrainian drones struck the Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant in Kineshma, Ivanovo Oblast on May 26, 2025. Two drones hit the logistics warehouse according to local reports and video evidence. The plant is 800 km from Ukraine and supplies rocket engine components including gunpowder and explosives to the Kazan State Owned Gunpowder Plant and Kamensky Combine. The facility has defense contracts worth over 100 million rubles. Ukraine previously attacked this plant in December 2024. The attack damaged packaging storage areas and left drone debris in the industrial zone.
Drones also hit the Shahed drone production plant in Yelabuga, Tatarstan on May 25-26, 2025. Explosions occurred near the facility in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone. A video of a missile being launched from the plant during the attack was published. The nearby Nizhnekamsk airport closed temporarily. The plant is 1,200 kilometers from Ukraine and was attacked in previous strikes on April 2 2024 and April 23, 2025. Earlier attacks damaged a dormitory building used by Alabuga Polytech employees and students.
Confirmed/Geolocated Advances as Reported by the ISW.
Russian Advances
• Bilovody (northeast of Sumy City) - southern area seized
• Vovchansk (northeast of Kharkiv City) - northern area and Aggregate Plant seized
• Ridkodub (north of Lyman) - reached southern outskirts
• Ozaryanivka (southwest of Chasiv Yar) - advance southwest, footage from April 4
• Popiv Yar (west of Toretsk) - reached central area
• Poltavka (west of Toretsk) - advanced in fields southeast
• Zorya (southwest of Toretsk) - settlement seized
Ukrainian Advances
None confirmed
Unconfirmed Advances
Russian Claims
• Volodymyrivka (west of Bilovody) - seized
• Yunakivka (southeast of Bilovody) - consolidated northern positions
• Vodolahy (west of Bilovody) - reached northern outskirts
• Tykhe (northeast of Kharkiv City) - advanced northeast
• Holubivka (north of Kupyansk) - reached eastern outskirts
• Mala Shapkivka (northwest of Kupyansk) - reached northeastern outskirts
• Ridkodub (north of Lyman) - advanced south
• Novomykhailivka (northeast of Lyman) - advanced northeast
• Zelena Dolyna (north of Lyman) - advanced south
• Stupochky (south of Chasiv Yar) - seized, disputed
• Popiv Yar (west of Toretsk) - seized
• Poltavka (west of Toretsk) - advanced to southern area
• Oleksandropil (southwest of Toretsk) - advanced northeast
• Novoolenivka (west of Toretsk) - advanced north and northeast
• Yablunivka (east of Popiv Yar) - seized western outskirts positions
• Myrne (northeast of Pokrovsk) - seized
• Shevchenko Pershe (northeast of Pokrovsk) - advanced east
• Myrolyubivka (northeast of Pokrovsk) - advanced north
• Muravka (northeast of Novopavlivka) - advanced 400 meters toward
• Novomykolaivka (northeast of Novopavlivka) - reached
• Troitske (east of Novopavlivka) - advanced into
• Horikhove (east of Novopavlivka) - advanced southeast
• Odradne (southwest of Kurakhove) - advanced north and west
• Zelene Pole (west of Velyka Novosilka) - advanced in northern and eastern areas
• Novopil (south of Zelene Pole) - advanced west
• Komar (northwest of Velyka Novosilka) - advanced south
• Zelene Pole and Novopil - encircled
Unconfirmed Ukrainian Advances
• Oleshnya (east of Loknya) - advanced up to 300 meters
• Myrne (northeast of Lyman) - pushed Russians from settlement
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