In this week’s summary:
- During the “ceasefire” from May 8 to May 11, Russia increased its rate of assaults compared to April.
- In the Toretsk sector, a large-scale mechanized attack into the center of Toretsk by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) failed.
- Russian troops achieved a “tactical breakthrough” at the junction of the Pokrovsk and Toretsk sectors east of Myrnohrad.
- During the talks in Istanbul, the Russian delegation demanded the transfer of control over Russia’s four “new regions.”
- Since the beginning of 2025, Russian airports have halted operations 217 times due to air raids, Novaya Gazeta Europe reports.
- A third Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet was lost due to what officials described as an “abnormal situation.”
- Ukraine has not received $770 million worth of arms and military equipment promised under contracts with foreign suppliers.
- Russia has turned military drone production into an industry worth 130 billion rubles ($1.6 billion) a year, The Insider found.
Situation at the front
Vladimir Putin unilaterally declared a “ceasefire” from 0:00 on May 8 to 0:00 on May 11 for the duration of the Victory Day festivities in Russia. The Ukrainian side officially refused to join, but some units within the Defence Forces of Ukraine were ordered only to return fire during the period. Nevertheless, the Russian Ministry of Defense accused the AFU of 14,043 ceasefire violations. According to AFU General Staff statistics analyzed by the Ukrainian OSINT resource DeepState, the rate of Russian infantry assaults during the “ceasefire” days was higher than the April average. However, Russian attacks using long-range weapons were less frequent than usual during the period. Over the three days, the AFU General Staff recorded Russia’s use of 12,100 artillery shellings, 7,300 FPV-drones, 197 aerial bombs, and 187 MLRS strikes — figures that are significantly lower than on most days in April. A full-fledged period of silence was even established in some sections, but the Russian Armed Forces soon resumed the usual rate of assaults after the 10th of May.
In the Kursk sector, Russian and Ukrainian sources reported (1, 2, 3, 4) fighting near the border town of Tetkino in the Glushkovsky district in Russia’s Kursk Region, including on the southern outskirts of the town. Attempts by the AFU to break through toward the neighboring Novy Put were also reported. Ukrainian forces gained a foothold east of Tetkino; at least one Russian assault on these positions failed.
Russian self-styled “war correspondent” and volunteer Roman Alekhin wrote about the superiority of the AFU’s drones in the area and Ukrainian strikes on bridges and crossings, which blocked Russian logistics. Also near Tetkino, Ukrainian drones hit a parking lot containing Russian vehicles, destroying a T-72B3M tank and a BMD-2 infantry fighting vehicle. Furthermore, footage emerged of a strike on a bridge over the Seym River near the village of Zvannoye in the Glushkovsky district.
In the Toretsk sector, Russian troops repelled a large-scale Ukrainian mechanized counterattack in the town of Toretsk. DeepState compared the actions of Ukraine’s 100th Separate Mechanized Brigade with similar mechanized enemy assaults. The Russian Armed Forces, in turn, advanced in Toretsk itself and in the pocket between Sukha Balka and Kalynove, north of the latter and towards Zoria on the western flank of the sector. In addition, Russian troops reached Dyliivka north of Toretsk.
The Russian advance has been slow and difficult. A “road of death” has appeared near Toretsk, where motorcyclists are sent on suicidal assaults. However, Ukraine has been having significant problems with logistics due to Russian FPV drone strikes reaching a depth of up to 15-20 km in the rear.
In the Pokrovsk sector, DeepState reports (1, 2, 3) Russian advances in Novoolenivka, Oleksandropil, and Nova Poltavka between May 7 and 12, as well as in the area of Vodyane Druhe on the eastern flank of the sector and in the vicinity of Sribne on the western flank. In turn, the Russian side claimed the capture of Myroliubivka, Malynivka, and Mykhailivka on the eastern flank.
The Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled numerous major Russian assaults, including during the ceasefire (1, 2, 3). On the western flank of the sector, Russian sources claimed the capture of Novooleksandrivka and Kotliarivka. Meanwhile, Russian forces set up a cemetery for “dozens” of Russian servicemen killed in assault operations near the village of Solone, southwest of Pokrovsk. In general, the Russian Armed Forces have increased their use of infantry in the sector, aided by the appearance of foliage that conceals fighters from drones.
Ukrainian military observer Kostiantyn Mashovets reports (1, 2, 3) that at the junction of the Toretsk and Pokrovsk sectors, Russian troops accomplished a “tactical breakthrough” of the AFU defense to a depth of 5-5.4 km with a front width of 9.5-9.7 km, occupying several settlements, reaching the lines connecting Novoolenivka with Oleksandropil and Malynivka with Nova Poltavka, and taking control of a section of the road from Pokrovsk to Bakhmut.
Vladimir Putin rejected a 30-day ceasefire ultimatum put forward by several European states. Instead, he suggested resuming Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul. After Donald Trump supported this proposal, Volodymyr Zelensky proposed holding a high-level Russian-Ukrainian summit in Turkey. In anticipation of the talks, the Europeans delayed the imposition of sanctions, which were originally scheduled to go into effect on May 12 in the event that the Russian Armed Forces failed to implement a ceasefire before that date. However, Putin never traveled to Turkey, and the Russian delegation was instead led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who had represented the Kremlin at the talks in Istanbul in 2022. The Russian delegation demanded that Ukraine transfer to Russia control over the four “new regions” — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, which Russia lists as its territories in the country’s amended constitution — and threatened to seize Sumy and Kharkiv regions if Kyiv refused.
Mutual strikes and sabotage
Between May 7 and May 16, the AFU Air Force reported (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) downing 340 UAVs of the Shahed type and other unidentified types out of 624 launched over Ukrainian territory. Another 184 UAVs were “radar lost” under the influence of electronic warfare tools. No Russian drone strikes were recorded during the ceasefire from May 8 to 10.
According to a report by Reporters Without Borders and Truth Hounds, Russian forces carried out at least 31 strikes on 25 Ukrainian hotels, injuring seven journalists and killing a Reuters employee. Human rights activists interpret these attacks as part of Russia’s strategy to intimidate media representatives and reduce independent coverage of the war. Meanwhile, 64% of Ukrainian journalists and 43% of their foreign colleagues avoid staying in hotels near the front line.
The Russian Ministry of Defense, for its part, reported the destruction of 148 Ukrainian fixed-wing UAVs over the territory of Russia and occupied Crimea between May 7 and May 16. Of these, 58 were allegedly destroyed during the ceasefire.
Novaya Gazeta Europe estimates that Russian airports have halted operations 217 times since the beginning of 2025 due to UAV raids. Airfields were closed more often in less than five months of 2025 than in all of 2023 (58) and 2024 (91) combined.
CIT volunteers estimate (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) that between 8:00 p.m. on May 6 and 8:00 p.m. on May 15, strikes on civilian infrastructure on both sides of the front killed at least 59 people and injured 293 more. Of these, 11 people were killed and 54 were injured during the “ceasefire.” Also according to CIT, 273 civilians were killed and 1,748 injured this past April as a result of shelling on both sides of the front line. This represents the highest number of civilian casualties (2,021) since at least January 2024, when the collection of relevant statistics began.
Losses
The BBC Russian Service and Mediazona, working jointly with a team of volunteers, have identified 108,608 people killed during the full-scale war in Ukraine on the Russian side. In the past two-week period, 1,863 names were added to the list.
For the fifth time since the beginning of 2025, the sides exchanged bodies of killed combatants, with Ukraine retrieving 909 bodies, and Russia 34. The pro-Russian OSINT project Slivochny Kapriz has been tracking body swaps since May 2023. Overall, Russia has handed over 7,790 bodies, and Ukraine 1,408 bodies.
The AFU Air Force reported the crash of an F-16 fighter jet due to an “abnormal situation” that occurred while the plane was repelling an air attack on Ukrainian territory. This is Ukraine’s third lost F-16. In the previous two instances, the pilots were killed, but this time the pilot managed to eject. Russian pro-war channels put forward versions of the plane’s downing by a Shahed detonation and strike by a Russian S-400 air defense system.
Weapons and military vehicles
Ukrainian OSINT resource Oko Gora ✙ News and Analytics calculated that in April Kyiv’s partners announced the delivery of 8-10 Puma HC 2 helicopters and 255 ground vehicles, including 216 MRAP-class armored vehicles, 36 T-72M1 tanks, and three Zuzana 2 self-propelled guns. In the meantime, it was revealed that Ukraine has yet to receive many weapons promised under contracts signed early in the war. The amount paid under these contracts totals $770 million, which accounts for 3.7% of Kyiv’s arms purchases during the full-scale Russian invasion.
As for Ukraine’s domestic defense projects, the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) presented to the public a line of Magura sea drones, including the Magura V7 with Sidewinder surface-to-air missiles installed — a model known for downing a manned aircraft for the first time in history. Also for the first time, the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit a Russian military officer with a grenade launcher mounted on a UAV. Ukrainian troops also began to equip reconnaissance drones with “barbecue grills,” presumably to protect them from battering rams and net guns, and followed the Russians in equipping tanks with similar makeshift armor of a larger size (1, 2).
Russia, for its part, has invested more than 200 billion rubles ($2.5 billion) in drone production. As The Insider’s investigation revealed, many Russian drone manufacturers masquerade as civilian companies. The total revenue of the industry reaches 130 billion rubles ($1.6 billion).
