On the night of May 14, Russian drones and missiles attacked Kyiv. In the Darnytskyi district of the capital, part of a nine-story residential building collapsed, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
At the time of publication, three people had been killed, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Another 44 people were injured, including two children. Klitschko added that an injured one-month-old baby had been hospitalized.
Damage and fires were also recorded in the Obukhiv, Brovary, Fastiv, Boryspil, and Bila Tserkva districts of Kyiv. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, damage was identified at 20 locations in the city, including residential buildings, a veterinary clinic, and other civilian infrastructure.
In addition to the Ukrainian capital, strikes also hit the Kyiv region, energy facilities in Kremenchuk, and port and residential development in Chornomorsk, Zelensky added.
According to him, Russian forces launched more than 670 drones and 56 missiles at Ukraine overnight. Kyiv was the main target of the attack. Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat called the strike on the night of May 14 one of the largest attacks of the entire war.
Escalation after the truce
The massive overnight strike on Ukraine on Thursday followed intense attacks the previous day. During the night, Russian forces launched 139 drones, and during the day another 753 drones. At least six people were killed in those strikes, Zelensky said.
The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the intensity of Russian attacks rose sharply after the truce ended. It said Russia may have used the ceasefire to prepare a wave of strikes that became the second largest since the start of the year.
The most intense Russian attack, the report says, took place on March 24, when 392 drones and 36 missiles were launched at Ukraine during the night, followed by another 550 drones during the day.
Ukrainian attacks and the truce backdrop
After the truce ended, Ukraine also increased the intensity of its attacks. On the night of May 13, 286 drones were intercepted over Russian regions, annexed Crimea, and the Sea of Azov and Black Sea, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. During the day and evening on Wednesday, the ministry said it had repelled attacks by another 145 drones.
A fire broke out at the Astrakhan gas processing plant after an attack by Ukrainian drones. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the strike and also said attacks had targeted the Yaroslavl oil refinery and the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal. Earlier, on May 12, one Ukrainian drone crashed into a high-rise apartment building in Orenburg. At the time, regional governor Yevgeny Solntsev said no one was injured.
The three-day truce between Russia and Ukraine announced by Vladimir Putin for the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War lasted from midnight on May 8 until midnight on May 11. In an address on April 28, Putin said that “all military actions” would stop “for this period,” urged Ukraine to join, and promised “consequences” if it refused. In response, Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia’s proposal “a theatrical performance” and stressed that a ceasefire for negotiations should last at least 30 days.
The intensity of fighting on the front did in fact decrease, and Kyiv and Moscow calmly received foreign guests. At the same time, both sides, as during the “Easter truce,” accused each other of violations.