Ukraine Conflict Monitor
Update
Ukraine war situation update | 2 May – 8 May 2026
Russian strikes kill 73 civilians in the five days leading up to the Victory Day ceasefire
Key stats
1,733 political violence events
1% decrease compared to last week
186 incidents of violence targeting civilians
32% increase compared to last week
At least 104 civilians killed by targeted violence
126% increase compared to last week
Key events
-
3 May
Moscow, Russia — In an unusual penetration of Moscow’s air defenses, a Ukrainian drone strikes a residential building in Moscow
-
6 May
Ukraine — Ukrainians protest in Kyiv and seven other cities over three days against a proposed Civil Code limiting women’s and LGBTQ+ rights
-
8 May
Perm Krai, Russia — Ukrainian drones strike oil infrastructure in Perm city for the fourth time in 10 days
Key trends
- Russian forces made territorial advances near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, despite being unable to seize any settlements. In the Donetsk region, Russian forces advanced south of Lyman, in Kostiantynivka, and north and west of Pokrovsk.
- At the intersection of the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, Russian troops made territorial advances near Novopavlivka and Oleksandrohrad.
- Russian forces launched at least 39 long-range missile and drone attacks, including on the Kyiv region and port infrastructure in the Odesa region.
- Russian strikes killed at least 83 civilians in the Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kherson, Poltava, Odesa, and Chernihiv regions. Ukrainian strikes reportedly killed 18 civilians in the Russian-controlled parts of the Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Luhansk regions, but also in the occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
Spotlight: Russia conducted the deadliest wave of strikes on civilians in 2026 ahead of the 9 May ceasefire
In the week leading up to the 9–11 May Victory Day ceasefire mediated by United States President Donald Trump,1 Russia conducted the deadliest wave of strikes on civilians in 2026, targeting first responders, energy workers, and civilian infrastructure in eastern Ukraine. Overall, Russian strikes killed at least 73 civilians and injured over 400 others between 4 and 8 May, continuing a trend of heightened civilian targeting around ceasefires. These attacks focused on easier-to-target population centers close to the frontline, including the cities of Zaporizhia, Kramatorsk, Dnipro, Merefa, and Sumy, mirroring previous bursts of long-range warfare against civilian life meant to exert psychological pressure on Ukraine’s society amid limited battlefield successes.
These attacks were characterized by waves of strikes hitting the same infrastructure and locations within minutes. In the Poltava district, double-tap strikes on 4 May on a Naftogaz gas production plant not only killed three employees and injured 8 civilians, they also killed two rescue workers and wounded 23 others responding to the fire and gas outage. First responders were also threatened by double-tap strikes during rescue missions in the cities of Zaporizhia and Sumy,2 while drone strikes injured evacuation and ambulance crews in Druzhkivka in the Donetsk region and Sahaidachne in the Kherson region, respectively.
While frontline population centers, such as Zaporizhia, are frequent locations of atrociously deadly Russian strikes on civilians, the escalated targeting of civilians and first responders in frontline regions around ceasefire periods points to Russia’s selective application of ceasefire coverage in support of its subversion and pressuring tactics. Should dialogue progress toward the discussion of longer ceasefires and, eventually, peace negotiations, Russia’s defiance of civilian protection will be a primary impediment to securing trust around deconfliction and demilitarization in front line areas.
