Daily review

Meanwhile, Russia abandons Stepnohirsk assault.

Ukrainian drone forces destroyed two long-range Russian radars in Donetsk Oblast, one rated to detect targets at 250 km and another to measure altitude at 300 km. UK, EU, and Canadian sanctions targeted the Russian networks linked to the deportation of more than 20,000 Ukrainian children, of whom about 2,000 have returned. ISW reported Moscow's Victory Day truce reduced combat but mainly served as a Russian stockpile window, with Molniya drones held back during the pause and released after.

No tanks, no navy: Russia's 9 May parade exposes the toll Ukraine has taken on its military.

Russia's unilaterally announced 8-9 May "Victory Day ceasefire" opened with more than 140 battlefield attacks, mass drone launches, and reconnaissance flights, Kyiv said. A separate US-mediated agreement set a 9-11 May truce tied to a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange. Overnight, Ukrainian drones reached Moscow, Yaroslavl, and Rostov-on-Don, igniting a fire at one of Russia's largest oil refineries.

Ukraine's air defenses destroyed nearly 6,000 targets in April.

Russia preached a 9 May ceasefire and ran 1,820 strikes anyway, killing a woman in a Kharkiv kindergarten. Switzerland's annual intelligence assessment confirmed what the strikes already said—Russia is escalating its long war against the West. Ukraine's Flamingo missile hit the Russian plant making Shahed antennas, the US cleared JDAM-ER kits for Kyiv, and Hungary handed back the Oshchadbank cash and gold its services grabbed in March.

Guided bombs kill 12 in Zaporizhzhia as Russia promotes a ceasefire it won't observe.

Ukrainian drones reached a Su-57 stealth fighter base near the Urals, a Perm refinery, and Buk-M3 air defenses in occupied Donetsk overnight, while a daytime Russian drone swarm hit Ternopil, Rivne, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, and Odesa, knocking Ternopil offline and injuring 10.

The Kyiv Security Forum achieved consensus that Russia's threat to Europe is existential but stopped short of charting a path to defeating Moscow.

Zelenskyy unveiled a "Drone Deals" export framework as Ukrainian strikes tore through Russian missile bunkers in Crimea and reignited the Tuapse refinery — the same day the FT reported the US ambassador in Kyiv is quitting.

Ukraine's new B-2 drone, whose specifications remain classified, has already begun punching holes in Russian air defenses up to 200 kilometers from the front.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu came to Kyiv on the 40th anniversary of Chornobyl and said Ukraine is the reason Russian forces are not on her country's border. The same day, Prime Minister Shmyhal disclosed that Russia has struck Ukraine's nuclear-linked energy infrastructure 155 times, and Kyiv opened a fund to raise over €500 million to repair the Chornobyl shelter damaged by a Russian drone last year. Overnight, Ukrainian forces hit three Russian warships in Sevastopol and a major refinery in Yaroslavl.

Syrskyi says Ukrainian drones are killing Russian troops faster than Moscow can replace them — for four months running. At home, Brave1 Market's points-for-kills system has put 181,000 items in soldiers' hands this year.

Brussels cleared a €90 billion loan for Ukraine and adopted its 20th sanctions package against Russia on 23 April, with the first tranche expected in May or June for weapons, budget, and energy defense. The new measures blacklist 20 Russian banks, 46 shadow fleet tankers, and crypto platforms used to circumvent oil-price caps.

Meanwhile, Hungary prepares to lift veto on Ukraine's aid.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine must end its dependence on Western air defense by scaling domestic missile and system production, with partners on board. The US warned NATO's eastern flank of delayed weapons shipments as the Iran war drains European stockpiles. A private-sector group in Kharkiv Oblast downed its first jet Shahed, Russia's 300+ km/h drone.