Russia started blocking mobile internet in Moscow ahead of the Victory Day parade. Residents started experiencing disruptions on May 5. TASS reported 10,000 complaints to service providers by 11:00. The Ministry of Emergency Situations confirmed that they are restricting mobile internet for security reasons. Russia has placed Pantsir-S1 systems on Moscow rooftops and installed S-400 missile batteries 10 km from Red Square. There are reports that Russia has relocated up to 280 air defense systems and related pieces of equipment to help provide coverage for the parade. Russia announced a ceasefire from May 8-11 for Victory Day celebrations. This ceasefire has been rejected by Ukraine.

Donald Trump stated that Putin's announced three-day ceasefire doesn't sound like much but is significant compared to previous conditions. Trump said both sides are seeking an agreement, and claimed Russia wasn't ready for ceasefire talks while Biden "didn't speak to Putin" for three years. Putin's truce will run from 8-11 May during Victory Day celebrations. US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg rejected the proposal, stating the US wants a long-term ceasefire. UK Defence Intelligence believes the ceasefire aims to show Russia is open to agreements while limiting Ukraine's long-range strikes.

Russians have again canceled the 9 May military parade in occupied Sevastopol, Crimea. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-appointed governor, stated this decision was coordinated with the Russian Ministry of Defence. Instead, Russians plan to lay flowers and hold concerts, as well as an online "Immortal Regiment" march. Military parades haven't been held in Sevastopol since 2023 due to Russia’s inability to secure the airspace over Crimea.

A military parade called "Great-grandchildren of Victory" was held in Vladivostok, Russia. The parade consisted of 1,500 primary school pupils dressed in uniforms representing motorized infantry, tank crews, missile troops, artillerymen, engineers, signal corps, border guards, sailors, paratroopers, and foot soldiers. North Korean children attended the event.

Ukraine will receive 1.8 million artillery shells through the Czech Initiative this year, President Zelenskyy announced in Prague on May 5. He stated Ukraine expects 3 million shells in total will be provided in 2025. By late April, the Czech Republic had already provided 400,000 large-caliber shells in a new round of its initiative. Norway allocated €376 million for ammunition purchases in early April.

Russia deployed combat divers to infiltrate Ukrainian positions. Ukraine's Gostry Kartuzy unit published footage of this. The footage shows a diver in a wetsuit being struck by a drone-dropped bomb after crossing water. This tactic helps Russia sneak past drones, as underwater movement defeats thermal imaging.

From the Telegram channel gostrikartuzy run by Ukrainian soldiers of the Gostry Kartuzi unit:

“In one of the directions, the enemy began to use entire groups of divers. So today one such invader was caught and well filmed on camera, who had just crossed the water barrier. I want to note that these are not ordinary infantrymen/counter-insurgents/convicts. These are well-trained fighters who are trying to get to our rear along the river. They are not visible in the thermal imager, and there is no movement either, because they move under water.”

North Korea sent about 15,000 workers to Russia to address labor shortages, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 5, citing South Korean intelligence. This violates UN Security Council resolutions. The workers mainly operate in Russia's Far East, working 12-hour days for low wages. Many entered on student visas. In 2024, North Korean nationals crossed into Russia 7,887 times. North Korea has also sent 15,000 troops to Russia since 2024, with about 600 killed in combat.

Russia launched 116 attack UAVs and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine on the night of May 4-5. Ukrainian air defense shot down 42 Shahed drones. The missiles were fired from Kursk Oblast at Sumy Oblast. The drones came from Kursk, Oryol, Millerovo, and occupied Primorsk. Twenty-one decoy drones disappeared from radar.

Russia attacked Konotop in Sumy Oblast with ballistic missiles and about a dozen Shahed drones, destroying an infrastructure facility. Mayor Artem Semenikhin reported no casualties. The Russians carried out double tap strikes, aiming to cause more damage and potentially kill rescue workers.

Residents of Bilopillia and Vorozhba in Sumy Oblast were urged to evacuate immediately on May 5. Mykhailo Melnyk, Head of Sumy District Administration, announced evacuation buses depart daily at 8:00. The Russians killed three people in Sumy Oblast on May 5, including one man in Bilopillia and two in Vorozhba. Four others were injured, including a 16-year-old boy.

Three women aged 43, 65, and 70 were injured in a Russian attack on the Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on May 5. Serhii Lysak, Head of the Oblast Military Administration, reported that Russia targeted Nikopol, Marhanets, Myrove, Pokrovske, and Chervonohryhorivka using UAVs and artillery. The attacks damaged 13 houses, an administrative building, seven outbuildings, cars, and a gas pipeline.

Russia hit a car and motorcycle with drones in Donetsk Oblast on May 5, injuring eight civilians, including two children. At 11:45, an FPV drone struck a car in Myrnohrad, injuring three people aged 20, 24, and 25. At 1:00 p.m., a drone hit a motorcycle, injuring a 60-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man. In Novodonetske, a weapon hit an apartment building, injuring a 37-year-old woman, her 2-year-old daughter, and her 10-year-old son.

Russia launched two drone attacks on Kherson on May 4, injuring two civilians. A 29-year-old man was hit at 4:30, suffering a blast injury and concussion. Later, an explosive device was dropped on a car in the Korabelnyi district, injuring a 40-year-old woman with shrapnel wounds to her spine and legs.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated during a parliamentary session that President Zelenskyy wants a "Ukraine-friendly" government in Hungary, but this will not happen. Orbán said Ukraine has agreed with the EU on "accelerated EU accession" and expects Hungary to ratify it. He added that Ukraine's accession would lead to Hungary's bankruptcy. Orbán called on Hungarians to express their opinion on Ukraine's EU accession during the "Voks 2025 vote."

Three Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia in the UK attended events at Parliament at least once, including a Brexit debate in 2016. BBC journalists identified Orlin Roussev, Biser Dzhambazov, and Katrin Ivanova in photos from the event. Dzhambazov and Ivanova had joined the Bulgarian Socialist Party in early 2016. Sir Iain Duncan Smith called for an investigation into whether members of the spy ring had been in Parliament on other occasions. Six Bulgarian citizens were accused of spying; three were convicted in March 2025 while the others pleaded guilty.


Russian blogger vdv_za_chestnost_a_spavedlivost reported that Ukraine’s jamming of KAB glide bombs is still effective at times, but Russia is still working on overcoming this problem.

“..Regarding air strikes, it is worth mentioning that the problem of the enemy suppressing the UMPK guidance system noted in winter is being solved in some way. The effectiveness is now good, about 60% of guided air bombs arrive where they should…”

But it is notable that the problem is “being solved” and 40% of the bombs are still missing their target. Successfully interfering with the accuracy of 40% of Russia’s guided bombs is still quite a remarkable feat, and implies that before Russia began to solve the problem, the accuracy issues were incredible and severe.


A Russian blogger reported that Ukraine is being supplied with drones that match a model used by US National Guardsmen for FPV drone training.

Russian Telegram channel russian_fpv:
Lately, more and more often, serial models of American FPVs are found on the front end According to information from Reddit, these birds were once used as FPV training by the US National Guard, and are now crawling in large numbers to the enemy's hands. In stock, these are equipped with xt60 batteries, Chinese GPS Cirocom for about 10 bucks, all this on a frame of unknown origin, created in the garage of some gloomy Pentagon genius. Such a wonder weapon could well function as a dropper and as a kamikaze. Considering that more and more photos of this bird are appearing in the classifieds, the troops have been saturated with them quite significantly. Perhaps they will bring a downed one to us for repairs, and we will study it with some interest.


One of the Drones

The European Parliament will vote on 8 May regarding preferential export conditions for Ukrainian steel and iron after the current trade visa-free regime expires on 6 June 2025. The proposed regulation would extend these preferences for three years. The European Commission noted that Ukraine remains a major steel and iron exporter despite war damage to production facilities. If approved by Parliament, the resolution must then be endorsed by the EU Council.

Iran introduced a new optically guided ballistic missile known as the Qasem Basir. Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh stated that it possesses better maneuverability to avoid THAAD and Patriot systems. With a range of 1,400 km, it successfully hit a target 1,200 km away during tests on April 17.

Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade released a video showing the Dragon H73 mobile anti-aircraft missile system, which combines Soviet R-73 missiles with American HMMWV vehicles. The system targets aircraft and large drones like Orlan or Shahed and can operate at day or night.

Acting US Chargé d'Affaires to Ukraine, Julie S. Davis,  arrived in Kyiv on 5 May. She previously served as US Ambassador to Cyprus and will remain accredited there during her Kyiv assignment. Davis replaces former Ambassador Bridget Brink, who reportedly resigned due to disagreements with the Trump administration. Davis has prior experience as Ambassador to Belarus, Special Envoy to Lithuania, and has worked in Georgia, Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has approved the Ukrainian-made Visliuk ground-based drone for use by the military. They are capable of carrying up to 200 kilogram. Visliuk comes in variants designed for logistics, evacuation, mine-laying and engineering barriers. The system features jam-resistant wireless control, optional fiber-optic modules, and battery capacity for several hours of continuous operation at maximum speed.


Ukraine's Air Force struck a Russian UAV command post near Tyotkino in Kursk Oblast on May 4, killing up to 20 Russian servicemen and destroying their equipment. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi stated the nine-month Kursk operation has achieved most of its goals, and the buffer zone created by Ukrainian forces continues to serve its purpose. Ukraine's General Staff said Russian claims about the end of fighting in Kursk Oblast are false.


Ukraine has launched a small, but relatively successful raid into Kursk that was able to capture small settlements.

Ukrainian Osint group DniproOfficial has created a map of the area under the control of Ukraine.

The Russians reported the bombing of a bridge near Zvannoye in the Glukhovsky region of Kursk. The bridge had previously been bombed on August 31, but was at least partially repaired and was usable.

Here is the bridge after the most recent strike.




Advances as reported in the May 5 ISW report.

Confirmed/Geolocated Russian Advances:

Central Vovchansk (Kharkiv Direction)

Central Hryhorivka (Siversk Direction)

Fields southwest of Dyliivka (Toretsk Direction)

Southern Nova Poltavka (Toretsk Direction)

Eastern and southern Myrne (Toretsk Direction)

T-0518 Velyka Novosilka-Bahatyr highway northwest of Rozdolne (Kurakhove Direction)

South of Novosilka (Velyka Novosilka Direction)

Unconfirmed Russian Advances:

Within Loknya and Bilovody (Sumy Direction)

Most of Bilovody was seized by the 83rd VDV Brigade and the 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment (Sumy Direction)

1.7 kilometers south and southeast of Nove (Lyman Direction)

Northwest of Tarasivka (Toretsk Direction)

West of Kalynove (Toretsk Direction)

West of Toretsk near Novoolenivka and Oleksandropil (Toretsk Direction)

Near Romanivka (Toretsk Direction)

Southeastern outskirts of Udachne (Pokrovsk Direction)

Northeast of Kotlyne (Pokrovsk Direction)

Near Kotlyarivka (Novopavlivka Direction)

Northwest of Troitske (Novopavlivka Direction)

Near Fedorivka (Velyka Novosilka Direction)

South of Mala Tokmachka (Western Zaporizhia)

No Ukrainian advances were reported. Ukraine did however launch counterattacks near Bilovody (Sumy direction), Hnativka (southwest of Toretsk), Bahatyr (west of Kurakhove), south of Pavlivka (northwest of Orikhiv), and in the Shakhtarske (Velyka Novosilka direction), but no confirmed Ukrainian territorial gains were reported.


From the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine Telegram channel:

The defense forces of Southern Ukraine continue to strike enemy deployments, firing positions, and rear areas.

Over the past day, enemy losses amounted to:

- 213 occupiers

- 11 artillery systems

- 15 units of automotive equipment

- 3 UAVs

- 6 electronic warfare stations

- 14 motorcycles

- 1 quad bike

- 3 boats

- 1 generator

- 1 UAV antenna

- 2 communication antennas

- 3rd power supply storage location

Destroyed:

- 97 shelters

Glory to Ukraine!

Quote of the Day:

"This is the dominant hedgehog. He will mate with as many females as he can. He is very busy."

-David Attenborough