Russia in May 2026: the most important developments in security
Russia's war in Ukraine reached NATO territory again in May 2026. On May 29 a drone struck an apartment building in the Romanian city of Galati, injuring two people. Romania said the drone was Russian, expelled the Russian consul general and called on NATO for protection; NATO and the EU condemned the strike, though Romania's envoy later said there was no proof the drone was Russian, and Moscow did not officially comment. Earlier in the month two Russian drones crashed in Latvia and damaged an oil storage facility, and a Russian plane reportedly violated Finnish airspace. Russia tested its Sarmat missile on May 12 and held nuclear exercises with Belarus from May 19.
Russian strikes on Ukraine continued at a high level. On May 14 Russia hit Kyiv with what officials called the heaviest wartime drone assault on the city, and a strike on a Kyiv apartment block killed 24 people. On May 24 Russia used its Oreshnik missile on Kyiv for the first time, alongside other missiles, killing at least two people. On May 25 Russia told foreign nationals and diplomats to leave Kyiv and announced systematic strikes on the capital.
Ukraine struck deep inside Russia. On May 17 it launched its largest drone attack on Moscow in over a year, with more than 500 drones, and Russian authorities reported three civilians killed. A larger attack of about 600 drones followed on May 18. Ukraine hit refineries including Yaroslavl, Norsi and Syzran, and Zelensky said Ukraine hit 10 refineries on May 20. Russia and Ukraine gave conflicting accounts of a strike on a dormitory in Luhansk, which Russia called terrorism and Ukraine said hit a military drone unit.
A three-day ceasefire that Trump announced began on May 9, the day of a scaled-down Victory Day parade in Moscow, along with a prisoner exchange of 1,000 soldiers each. Both sides accused each other of violations, and large strikes resumed after it expired on May 11 or 12. Russia and Ukraine exchanged 205 prisoners each on May 15.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.