Explosions reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv oblasts during the nationwide air raid alert

On the morning of May 4, Russian forces struck the town of Merefa in Kharkiv Oblast with missiles, killing at least four people and injuring another 18.

President Volodymyr Zelensky held bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of the U.K., Norway, Finland, and the Czech Republic.

Finland's authorities reported two unidentified drones briefly entering the country's airspace near the Finnish-Russian border early on May 3. The incident coincided with an alleged Ukrainian drone strike against Russia's Leningrad Oblast.

The attack appears to mark one of the deepest strikes into central Moscow's residential core, having occurred approximately seven kilometers west of the city's central Red Square and three kilometers from the Russian Defense Ministry building. The Mosfilm Tower is situated in an elite neighborhood within the city, close to nearby embassies and diplomatic residences.

The number includes 1,120 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

According to CENTCOM, the U.S. operation will utilize guided-missile destroyers as well as over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, with 15,000 U.S. soldiers supporting the efforts.

The Swedish Coast Guard on May 3 detained a tanker in the Baltic Sea believed to be part of Russia's shadow fleet, the fifth such intervention in recent months.

A Russian hacker linked to attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the United States and Ukraine has agreed to plead guilty in a U.S. federal case that could bring up to 27 years in prison.

Russian forces launched a series of attacks on Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, killing at least one person and injuring 34, regional officials said.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, Anna Belokur examines why war reporting is becoming more dangerous in Ukraine. As drone warfare expands across the country, journalists are increasingly exposed to risks far beyond the front line.

"Prolonging the war will only scale up our defensive operations," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.