Russia launched an overnight attack on Ukraine using two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 183 drones of different types, killing five civilians and injuring at least 61 others, Ukrainian authorities reported on May 3.
Ukraine's air defense forces intercepted 77 drones, while another 73 were lost from radar without causing damage, according to the Air Force report.
The heaviest casualties were reported in Kharkiv, where 51 people, including two children aged 11 and 16, were injured in a mass drone attack late on May 2, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office. Russian forces launched at least 15 Geran-2 drones at the city, triggering fires and widespread destruction across the Osnovianskyi, Slobidskyi, Saltivskyi, and Kyivskyi districts.
In other parts of Kharkiv Oblast, including Kupiansk and Bohodukhiv districts, Russian strikes killed one, damaged homes, a store, an apartment building, and a warehouse. In total, four settlements and the city of Kharkiv were hit, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said earlier.
In Kupiansk district, strikes damaged a private home, store, apartment building, and other civilian infrastructure. In Bohodukhiv district, two homes and a warehouse were damaged or destroyed.
In Donetsk Oblast, four people were killed, and eight more were injured, Governor Vadym Filashkin said. He emphasized that casualty figures exclude Russian-occupied Mariupol and Volnovakha.
In Sumy Oblast, Russian forces injured two civilians in the Seredyna-Buda community amid nearly 130 attacks across 43 settlements in one day, regional officials said. Russian attack damaged homes, a post office, educational institutions, and other infrastructure across several communities.
In Mykolaiv Oblast, Russia launched Shahed drones at Mykolaiv city, targeting industrial sites overnight. No injuries were reported, according to Governor Vitalii Kim. Additional drone strikes hit settlements in the Mykolaiv and Ochakiv districts throughout the day on May 2, also without casualties.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called for a 30-day ceasefire, saying on April 23, Ukraine insists on an "immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire."
"For over 50 days now, Russia has been ignoring the American proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire," Zelensky wrote on X on May 1.
He added that Ukraine had also proposed halting strikes on civilian infrastructure and establishing "lasting silence" across land, sea, and air.
"Russia has responded to all this with new shelling and new assaults," he said.
Francis Farrell
(Updated: )
