Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery towards Russian positions in Donetsk oblast. Analysts say Moscow's troops cannot advance on the ground, so they have resorted to bombarding cities from the air. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) thinktank noted that the strikes also aim to distract from the impact of Ukrainian long-range attacks into Russia.
According to Reuters, the Finnish Black Bird Group's latest data shows Russian monthly territorial gains have fallen sharply compared to the same period last year. Ukrainian open-source group DeepState reported that in May 2026, Russian troops gained only 14 square kilometers, their smallest monthly gain since October 2023, despite a 37.5% increase in assaults. The ISW assessment stated: "Ukrainian forces have largely halted the Russian spring-summer 2026 offensive so far, and Russian forces in May 2026 have gained a presence in only a fraction of the territory they did in May 2025."
Ukrainian forces have also recaptured territory this year. John Helin, a Black Bird Group analyst, said: "If the Russians can't find ways to pick up momentum significantly, the goal of capturing Donbas this year is slipping out of their reach fast." Mathieu Boulègue of the US-based Center for European Policy Analysis noted that Moscow's war machine is grappling with shrinking industrial capacity due to Western sanctions and dwindling stocks of nearly all weaponry. He added, "They are really slowly, I think, changing the cost-benefit calculus of the Kremlin."
Ukraine's missile and drone maker, Fire Point, announced it had test-flown a ballistic missile intended for air defense, as Kyiv faces a shortage of ammunition for foreign-supplied systems like Patriot. CEO Iryna Terekh said a "fully controlled maneuvering flight of the FP-7.X missile" took place, forming the basis for the future Freyja anti-ballistic interceptor.
In occupied Crimea, a Ukrainian attack on "non-residential buildings in Simferopol" killed at least three people and wounded seven, according to Russian-installed official Sergey Aksyonov. In the Donetsk region, Moscow-installed authorities reported a drone strike hit a bus traveling from Moscow to Simferopol, killing seven and wounding 11. Russian shelling killed at least three civilians in Kramatorsk, and attacks near Dnipro injured eight and triggered a large fire. In Kherson, a drone strike destroyed 36 apartments, killing one person.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces struck food storage areas and a postal depot with drones and missiles. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones hit energy and military sites in St Petersburg early Wednesday, hours before an economic forum, deeply embarrassing President Vladimir Putin. Guests arrived under thick smoke, and the nearby Kronstadt naval base and shipyard were also struck, setting fire to the guided-missile corvette Boikiy.
The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, told AFP that Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russia are causing "panic" for the Kremlin. She said: "Ukraine has really increased the deep strikes against the oil facilities, because oil is something that is funding the war in Ukraine. We see at the same time that Putin is losing money, men, and momentum, and that's why he's increasing attacks on civilians." The EU is preparing more sanctions against Moscow, aimed at keeping Russia's oil revenues down.
Officials from Germany, France, and the UK are working with Kyiv to engage Russia in negotiations to end the war, Bloomberg reported. A German official said a window for dialogue was slowly opening, but getting talks going is likely to take months.
