On May 5, 2026, Putin’s Russia once again showed that its war against Ukraine has long gone beyond the front line. During the night and morning, the Russian army launched a massive combined attack with drones and ballistic missiles on Ukrainian cities, civilian infrastructure, railways, gas extraction facilities, and residential areas. There are fatalities, dozens injured, damaged homes, fires, destruction, and an attack on rescuers who were already working at the site of the previous strike.
This is not just “shelling” and not a dry military report. This is a terrorist tactic of a state that deliberately targets the civilian sector to break people with fear, fatigue, night alarms, loss of normal life, and the feeling that there is no safe place anymore.
For the Israeli audience, this logic is understandable without lengthy explanations. Terror always seeks not only to kill but also to make society live in constant anticipation of the next strike.
Massive attack on May 5: Russia struck at cities and civilian life
On the night of Tuesday, May 5, and the morning of the same day, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with drones and ballistic missiles. Kharkiv, Kyiv region, Poltava region, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk region, and Chernihiv region were hit.
The geography of the attack speaks for itself. This is not one military target and not one combat zone. Russia struck different regions, cities, industrial facilities, gas infrastructure, railways, private homes, apartment buildings, cars, gas stations, and enterprises.
This is how a terrorist army operates. Its goal is not only physical destruction. The goal is psychological pressure on millions of people: to make them fear the night, the road, the station, work, their own home, and even the arrival of rescuers.
Kharkiv: drones, missiles, and a strike on the urban residential environment
On the morning of May 5, Kharkiv came under attack by Russian drones. A series of explosions sounded in the city.
The first drone strike hit the Kholodnohirskyi district. After the explosions, a fire started, and thick black smoke rose over the city. At least one injured woman, 55 years old, was reported to have had an acute stress reaction.
Later it became known that the city was also shelled with missiles. Two hits were recorded in the Osnovianskyi district. One missile hit an open area, but the blast wave damaged the roof and windows of a residential high-rise. Another hit occurred near warehouse premises, where buildings and cars were damaged.
This is an important detail. Even when a Russian missile formally falls “in an open area,” ordinary people suffer the consequences: broken windows, damaged homes, burned cars, fear among children, the elderly, and those who have lived under the threat of new attacks for many years.
Kyiv region: homes, gas stations, cars, and injured people
The Kyiv region also experienced a night attack by drones. As a result of the strike, three people were injured.
In the Vyshhorod district, a man born in 1971 was injured. He was found to have minor shrapnel wounds on his face. Medics provided assistance on the spot, and hospitalization was not required.
But the damage was wider. In the Brovary district, the blast wave damaged the facade of a high-rise building, two private houses, and a car. In the Vyshhorod district, two private houses, a gas station building, ten cars, and the territory of one enterprise were damaged.
Behind these formulations lies civilian life. A home, a car, a gas station, a yard, an enterprise — this is not “military infrastructure” in the Kremlin’s propagandist sense. This is the space of ordinary people, which Russia strikes to show that normal life must be punished.
Poltava region: strike on gas infrastructure and killing of rescuers
One of the most severe episodes of the attack occurred in the Poltava region. At night, Russian troops attacked the region with missiles and strike drones. People died, dozens were injured to varying degrees.
In the Poltava district, direct hits and debris falls were recorded at two locations. Some of the injured were hospitalized, and several people were in serious condition.
Damage to an industrial enterprise and railway infrastructure was also reported. Due to the destruction, thousands of subscribers were left without gas supply.
This is another element of Russia’s terrorist strategy: to strike at objects on which the basic stability of the region depends. Gas, heat, industry, transport, communication between cities — all this becomes a target because Moscow is trying to turn the life of the civilian population into a constant crisis.
Repeated strike on rescuers — a separate sign of terrorist tactics
The darkest episode is the repeated strike on the place where rescuers were already working. During the elimination of a large fire, a Russian missile hit the same location again.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, two DSNS rescuers — Viktor Kuzmenko and Dmytro Skryl — were killed. Another 37 people were injured. The department indicated that the strike was aimed at rescuers who were working at the site of the previous hit.
Such a strike cannot be described neutrally. When a missile hits where people are extinguishing a fire, helping the wounded, and dealing with the consequences of the first attack, it does not look like an accident. It looks like a terrorist practice: first hit the object, then hit those who came to save.
Later, the head of the regional military administration reported that the number of dead had increased to five. Among them were three employees of an oil and gas company. May 5 and 6 were declared days of mourning in the Poltava region.
At the center of this story is not only the destroyed infrastructure. At the center are the people who went to work, the people who came to extinguish the fire, and the families who will no longer wait for them to come home.
Strike on “Naftogaz”: attack on energy resilience
Russia also struck the gas extraction infrastructure of “Naftogaz” in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions. It was reported that three company employees and two DSNS rescuers were killed. Dozens more people were injured.
As a result of the attacks, significant destruction and losses in gas production were recorded.
For Israel, this part is especially understandable. Energy infrastructure is not abstract industry. It is heat, electricity, the work of enterprises, the stability of cities, and the ability of the country to withstand pressure. When an aggressor strikes such objects, it tries to attack not only the economy but also the daily life of the population.
That is why NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers such Russian strikes not as separate episodes of war, but as part of a systemic terrorist line: Moscow strikes at the civilian sector, infrastructure, and rescuers to cause fear, fatigue, and a sense of helplessness.
Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk region, Chernihiv region: terror expanded the map of strikes
On the morning of May 5, explosions sounded in Zaporizhzhia. The city was under air raid alert from dawn. The air forces warned of the threat of using drones and guided bombs.
According to the regional military administration, the day before, Russian troops had already launched missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia, Volnyansk, and the Zaporizhzhia district. As a result of the attacks, three people were killed.
After the morning strike on Zaporizhzhia, it was reported that windows and the roof of a building in the Alexandrovsky district were damaged. Preliminary, there were no casualties.
But here it is again important not to be deceived by the word “escaped.” For people who wake up to explosions, see damaged homes, and await the next alarm, this is not an ordinary morning. This is life under terror.
Odesa: drone attack from the Black Sea
In Odesa, on the morning of May 5, explosions also thundered. The city was attacked by Russian strike drones. Smoke rose over certain areas.
According to preliminary information, the drones approached from the Black Sea. In some areas, the consequences of hits and fires were recorded. The scale of destruction and data on the injured were being clarified.
Odesa for Ukraine is not just a city by the sea. It is a port, logistics, economy, the south of the country, a connection with the Black Sea region. Russian attacks on Odesa always have a broader meaning: to strike at a city that remains a symbol of Ukrainian resilience, openness, and connection with the world.
Dnipropetrovsk region and Chernihiv region: private homes, gas stations, agricultural enterprises
In Dnipro, as a result of a Russian attack, one person was injured. Private homes in the residential sector were damaged.
In the Dnipro and Samar districts, the enemy shelled an agricultural enterprise, a gas station, infrastructure facilities, and homes. The fires that arose were extinguished by rescuers.
Chernihiv region also came under attack. In one of the settlements of the Horodnya community, after a hit on the private sector, a residential house caught fire. Two men, born in 1966 and 1995, were injured and hospitalized.
A hit on the territory of a forestry was also recorded. The fire was quickly extinguished.
These regions show the same picture: Russia strikes at places where ordinary people live and work. At homes. At agriculture. At gas stations. At objects without which normal life in the area is impossible.
Railway as a target: Russia strikes at connections between people
A separate direction of the attack was the railway infrastructure. Russian troops struck objects in three regions of Ukraine.
In the Kharkiv region, a Russian drone destroyed a wagon. In the Poltava region, a drone fell between the tracks near a locomotive, causing a wagon to catch fire. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, an electric locomotive standing on the track was damaged.
According to Ukrainian data, people in these cases were warned and secured in time. There were no casualties or injuries, and movement continued.
But the target of the attack itself is important. The railway in Ukraine is evacuation, humanitarian logistics, trips between cities, cargo delivery, family connections, the work of the economy, and the resilience of the state. A strike on the railway is a strike on the country’s ability to move, help, transport, and hold on.
For terrorist logic, this is a typical target. It is not necessary to immediately stop the entire system. It is enough to create the feeling that even a train, station, route, and road are no longer safe.
Air defense shot down most targets, but the attack still caused destruction
According to the Ukrainian side, on the night and morning of May 5, Russia launched 11 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, as well as 164 strike and imitation drones of the Shahed, “Gerbera,” “Italmas,” and “Parody” types.
As of 09:00, air defense destroyed or suppressed one ballistic missile and 149 drones in the north, south, east, and center of the country.
Simultaneously, hits of eight missiles and 14 drones were recorded in 14 locations. There were also reports of falling debris in 10 places. Two more missiles did not reach their targets.
These numbers show the scale of the attack. Even when air defense works effectively, a massive strike still poses a threat. Some missiles and drones can break through, and debris from downed targets damages homes, cars, communication lines, enterprises, and civilian infrastructure.
Zelensky: Moscow asks for “silence” for propaganda, but itself kills people
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to the attack, emphasizing Russia’s cynicism. According to him, Moscow talks about “silence” before propaganda events for Victory Day, but on the same days launches missile-drone strikes on Ukraine.
Zelensky stated that real steps are needed for peace. He also noted that Russia can cease fire any day — and this will stop the war and Ukrainian responses.
This is the main contrast. The Kremlin tries to speak the language of “memory” and “celebration,” but in practice kills civilians, destroys homes, strikes at energy, railways, and rescuers. Such a policy has nothing to do with memory. This is state terror, covered by propagandist slogans.
The final meaning of the attack on May 5 is perfectly clear. Russia is not just fighting against the Ukrainian army. It is trying to break Ukrainian society through strikes on the civilian sector. Through night alarms. Through destroyed homes. Through dead rescuers. Through fear for the road, work, gas, train, city, and family.
But it is precisely such attacks that show not Russia’s strength, but its method. To strike at those who do not hold weapons. At those who extinguish fires. At those who work on infrastructure. At those who live in an apartment building, ride a train, or open the door of their own home in the morning.
For Israel, this is an important and understandable lesson. Terrorist logic looks different in different regions, but its essence is the same: first kill, then intimidate, then make the world discuss “war fatigue,” as if the victim is to blame for resisting.
