Ukraine war latest: Russia attacks Kharkiv with drones, injuring at least 40

Key developments on May 2:

• Russia attacks Kharkiv with drones, injuring at least 40
• Massive drone attack reportedly targets Russian military sites in occupied Crimea
• U.S. confirms sending decommissioned F-16s to Ukraine for spare parts
• Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia kills 1, injures 28

A Russian drone attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv injured at least 40 people on May 2, according to local authorities. At least seven people have been hospitalized.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has endured repeated air assaults throughout the full-scale war.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said via his official Telegram channel that the attack targeted 12 locations in four districts of the city, including Kyivskyi, Osnovianskyi, Slobidskyi, and Saltivskyi.

Several houses, shops, and vehicles were damaged following drone strikes, and some buildings caught fire, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. First responders have been dispatched to the sites of attack.

Massive drone attack reportedly targets Russian military sites in occupied Crimea

Russian air defenses allegedly intercepted 89 Ukrainian drones over occupied Crimea and another 23 over the waters of the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on May 2.

The pro-Ukrainian Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported explosions in several key locations across the peninsula, including Sevastopol, Dzhankoy, Saky, Novofedorivka, and Kacha — sites that host Russian military airfields.

The Saky and Kacha airfields are used by Russia to control airspace over the Black Sea and to launch strikes on Ukrainian territory. Videos published by Crimean Wind showed multiple explosions and a fire near the village of Uhlove, close to the Kacha airfield.

Uhlove is located about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the coast of Kalamit Bay and roughly 25 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of Simferopol.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed leader in Sevastopol, confirmed on Telegram that "loud sounds" were caused by Russian forces repelling an attempted drone attack.

He claimed seven drones had been destroyed over the sea at a significant distance from shore.

"The fleet, in cooperation with air defense forces, is reflecting a massive combined attack," he wrote, claiming no damage to infrastructure in Sevastopol or its waters.

Ukraine has not officially commented on the reported strikes, and the Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.

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Amid reports that a U.S. peace proposal might include recognizing Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea, President Donald Trump denied Ukraine was being pressured to accept the move — while also asserting Ukraine had given up the peninsula in 2014 “without firing a shot.” “Nobody is asking (President Volodymyr) Zelensky to

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U.S. confirms sending decommissioned F-16s to Ukraine for spare parts support

The U.S. Air Force has transferred decommissioned F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to supply spare parts for aircraft already donated by European partners, the War Zone reported on May 1.

According to an Air Force spokesperson, the U.S. Air Force "has supported the sustainment of European-donated F-16s to Ukraine by providing disused and completely non-operational F-16s to Ukraine for parts."

The aircraft, retired from U.S. service, are non-flyable and lack critical components such as engines and radars, making them unusable for operational missions.

On April 26, these stripped-down F-16 airframes were reportedly loaded onto an An-124 cargo plane that departed from Tucson International Airport in Arizona to Poland's Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport, a key logistics hub for Western military assistance to Ukraine.

Several European allies have committed to supplying Ukraine with operational F-16s.

One night with 3rd Assault Brigade medics in a new age of war

The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko spent a night at the stabilization point of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, one of Ukraine’s most battle-hardened units now fighting in Kharkiv Oblast. As drones reshape modern warfare, medics face mounting challenges: evacuations get harder and slower, turning survivable wounds into potentially fatal ones.

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Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia kills 1, injures  31

Russia forces launched drone attacks on Zaporizhzhia late at night on May 1, killing one person and injuring at least 31 others, including two children, Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.

Russia launched attack drones towards the city, striking targets at least 10 times and causing multiple fires, Fedorov said.

The regional military administration later reported that a 61-year-old man had been killed as a result of the attack.

Footage of the aftermath of the attacks shows multiple homes as well as a residential building damaged as a result of the attack. Fedorov later reported that a local university as well as an infrastructure facility were damaged in the strike.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported that apartment buildings, an educational institution, and an infrastructure facility were damaged in the attack.

Note from the author:

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