Editor’s note: This story is developing and is being updated.
Russian forces launched a prolonged combined attack on Ukraine’s critical and civilian infrastructure on the afternoon of May 13, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) said.
The first air raid sirens sounded around 11:00 a.m. local time in several Ukrainian regions, after which authorities in central, western, and southern Ukraine reported explosions in populated areas, casualties, and air defense activity.
At least one Ukrainian air alert tracker reported roughly 200 Shahed-type drones in Ukrainian airspace. As of 12:10 p.m., the Ukrainian Air Force detected eight groups of Shahed-type drones still in the air, including a fresh squadron coming in from the Black Sea.
Groups of drones en route to multiple regions of Ukraine at around 12:30 p.m. local time during a large-scale Russian attack on May 13, 2026. (Monitor / Telegram)
A Ukrainian monitoring channel “Monitor” published a map at around 12:30 p.m. indicating that groups of long-range drones entered Ukrainian airspace from Belarus, flying over the Chornobyl area toward the country’s northwest.
Another group of drones entered Ukraine from the Black Sea and headed west toward the Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, and Ternopil oblasts, according to the monitoring channel.
In western Rivne Oblast, a Russian drone strike hit a residential building, killing three people and injuring four others, Governor Oleksandr Koval said.
Three more people suffered injuries in a separate Russian attack on the Smila community in Cherkasy Oblast, according to the local military administration.
A significant number of the drones appeared to be heading farther south and west toward the central Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi. At least three people were injured in a Russian drone attack on Khmelnytskyi Oblast and hospitalized in moderate condition, according to Khmelnytskyi Mayor Oleksandr Symchyshyn.
A Russian drone strike on Odesa injured at least two people and sparked a blaze in a courtyard, with several cars catching fire, Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said. A fragment of a drone fell onto the roof of a nine-story building, Kiper added.
Ukraine’s Air Force warned shortly before noon that drones were heading toward Kyiv from the north, around the time air raid sirens sounded across the capital. Explosions from air defense activity were heard shortly afterward.
According to Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko, debris from a downed drone fell in the Obolon district. No casualties have been reported.
Following the start of the large-scale drone strike, HUR said Russia had launched a “combined, prolonged air strike on critical infrastructure” across Ukraine.
The first wave consisted of a large number of strike drones intended to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses and hit civilian targets. Yet Russian forces plan to follow up with a significant number of air- and sea-launched cruise missiles, as well as ballistic missiles, according to HUR.
The agency said Kremlin targets could include critical infrastructure and essential services in major cities, including energy facilities, defense industry enterprises, and government buildings.
“In this way, Russia, which has rejected proposals for a ceasefire, seeks once again to undermine Ukraine’s resilience in the war for freedom,” HUR said.
At around 10 a.m. local time, President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 100 Russian drones were in Ukrainian airspace, warning that further waves of attacks could follow those carried out overnight.
The president added that 14 regions came under attack the previous day, and that overnight Russian forces struck residential and railway infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv oblasts, port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast, and energy facilities in Poltava Oblast.
