Russian drones hit Kharkiv after Ukrainian attacks temporarily close Moscow airports

Summary

Russia attacks the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, after Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow caused the temporary closure of the city's airports overnight
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says at least 19 Ukrainian drones were destroyed - while the Russian military says it shot down more than 100 across the country
It is the second night in a row that Ukraine has attacked Moscow - and comes three days before a major parade in the city, marking victory in Europe in World War Two
A three-day ceasefire in Ukraine, announced by Vladimir Putin, is due to start on Thursday
Meanwhile, Ukraine insists it's still fighting inside the Russian region of Kursk, despite Moscow saying it was in full control of the area
Ukraine says Russian attacks kill three people in Sumy, near Kursk - while Russia says Ukraine kill three people on the Russian side of the border

Live Reporting

Edited by Owen Amos

The current state of the war - in mapspublished at 09:02 British Summer Time
With attacks on both Ukraine and Russia overnight, let's take a closer look at the current state of the war.
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Russia rapidly advanced in spring 2022 but Ukraine regained ground in autumn of that year
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The fighting has mostly been in eastern Ukraine, with little change to the front line in recent months
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Ukraine originally made a surprise incursion into Kursk in August 2024, to create a buffer zone and protect Sumy and surrounding areas, while also hoping to use it as a bargaining chip in future negotiations
Four killed overnight in Ukraine, officials saypublished at 08:41 British Summer Time
Joel Gunter
Reporting from Kyiv
Four people were killed in Ukraine overnight and this morning in Russian strikes, Ukrainian officials say.
Three were killed and seven injured in the north Sumy region, according to local military officials, after Russia hit villages with guided aerial bombs, mortars and rockets.
Strikes hit the villages of Vorozhba and Bilopillia, officials say, prompting emergency evacuations.
Sumy is close to the Russian region of Kursk, where Russian officials say three people were killed overnight in Ukrainian strikes.
Ukraine says some of its forces are still active inside Kursk, nine months after a surprise incursion there by Ukrainian troops.
Separately, one person was killed in a drone attack on the southern city of Odesa, authorities say, and four were wounded in the eastern city of Kharkiv, in an attack using Shahed drones.
Russia took record losses in Ukraine in 2024published at 08:27 British Summer Time
Olga Ivshina
BBC Russian Service
Image source, Getty Images
Last year was the deadliest for Russian forces since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine - at least 45,287 people were killed.
At the start of the war, losses happened in waves during battles for key locations, but 2024 saw a month-on-month increase in the death toll as the front line slowly edged forward.
This enables us to estimate that Russia lost at least 27 lives for every square kilometre of Ukrainian territory captured.
The BBC Russian Service, in collaboration with independent media outlet Mediazona and a team of volunteers, has processed open source data from Russian cemeteries, military memorials and obituaries.
So far, we have identified the names of 106,745 Russian soldiers killed during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The true number is clearly much higher. Military experts estimate our number may cover anywhere between 45% and 65% of Russian troop deaths.
- How Russia took record losses in Ukraine in 2024
What has Ukraine said about a possible ceasefire?published at 08:15 British Summer Time
Image source, Reuters
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Zelensky said at the start of his Prague visit at the weekend that a ceasefire with Russia was possible at any moment
Ceasefires in Ukraine of various durations have been proposed this year - but as the latest attacks highlight, none has taken hold.
In March, Kyiv accepted a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US. And Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted in recent days this deal could still be implemented at "any moment" - but Russia has so far failed to agree to the terms.
"We believe that a ceasefire is possible at any moment, even starting today, and should last at least 30 days to give diplomacy a real chance," Zelensky said on Sunday while visiting the Czech president.
But Zelensky threw cold water on Vladimir Putin's proposed three-day ceasefire, set to come into effect on 8 May, denouncing it as a "theatrical show".
Seventy-two hours, Zelensky suggested, would not provide enough time to settle the conflict.
Latest attacks come two days before Russia's ceasefire due to beginpublished at 08:10 British Summer Time
Image source, Reuters
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Decorations have been going up in Moscow as the country commemorates the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany
The attacks in Russia and Ukraine come just two days before a ceasefire in Ukraine - unilaterally announced by Russia last month - is due to begin.
The ceasefire is set to run between 8 May and 11 May - overlapping with Russia commemorating Victory Day.
Unlike Britain, France and the US - which celebrate VE (Victory in Europe) Day on 8 May - Russia commemorates Nazi Germany's surrender the following day, as Germany officially signed the document by the time it was 9 May in Russia.
The huge parade of weapons and tanks in Moscow's Red Square has long been seen as a chance for the Kremlin to put its military might on display.
The event typically draws high-level guests - but Ukraine's president warned at the weekend that he couldn't guarantee the security of foreign officials planning to attend the parade on Friday.
Last month, both Ukraine and Russia accused each other of breaching a 30-hour Easter ceasefire announced by Putin. And as our next post explains, Ukraine has dismissed the ceasefire due to begin on Thursday.
Ukrainian attacks kill three in Kursk, Russian governor sayspublished at 07:45 British Summer Time
We've just had another update from Kursk, where the regional governor Alexander Khinshtein now says three people have been killed in Ukrainian "attacks" in Kursk.
In a translated social media update, Khinshtein says "seven people were taken to the hospital" after Ukrainian attacks, while "three more were killed".
He also says Ukrainian drone strikes injured civilians in the Glushkovsky district near the border - it's unclear whether this was part of the same attack.
Kyiv is yet to comment.
Huge fire engulfs Kharkiv market after Russian attackspublished at 07:22 British Summer Time
The north-eastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine was hit overnight by Russian drone attacks. Among the places hit was the Barabashovo market in the city of Kharkiv, most of which burned down overnight:
Image source, Reuters
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Firefighters work at the Barabashovo market in Kharkiv
Image source, Reuters
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Firefighters battle flames inside the market structure
Image source, Reuters
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A vendor sits outside the market
Ukraine's hope to use Kursk as a bargaining chip still looks unlikelypublished at 07:18 British Summer Time
Frank Gardner
Security correspondent, in Kyiv
Ukraine insists that some of its forces are still active inside Russia in the Kursk region, nine months after they began their surprise incursion into Russian territory last year.
To put this in context, Ukraine originally made its lightning dash into the Kursk region last August in order to create a border buffer zone to protect the city of Sumy and its surroundings.
It has also been hoping to use the small amount of territory it held inside Russia as a bargaining chip in future peace negotiations, hoping to trade it for a partial Russian withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.
This now looks unlikely: partly as Ukraine’s forces have been driven out of more than 90% of the Russian territory they took control of, and partly as President Putin does not appear to be in any rush to negotiate - except on terms that he knows are completely unacceptable to Ukraine.
Ukraine says it's still fighting inside Russian territorypublished at 07:13 British Summer Time
As Moscow and Kyiv trade aerial attacks overnight, fighting continues in the western Russian region of Kursk.
Last week, Russia’s military claimed it had regained full control of Kursk - which was quickly denied by Kyiv.
Now, Ukraine’s general staff says over the weekend, Ukraine’s air forces successfully struck an "enemy command point for UAV units" near Tetkino in Kursk.
"As a result of the strike, up to 20 occupiers were eliminated, and their equipment was destroyed," Ukraine says.
And yesterday, Ukraine insisted: "Nine months after the start of the Kursk operation, Ukraine's Defence Forces maintain a military presence on the territory of Russia's Kursk region."
This morning, Kursk’s governor Alexander Khinshtein says repair crews have worked overnight to restore power to a "damaged" substation in the town of Rylsk, which had been hit by a Ukrainian strike.
"As a result of the attack on the city, two transformers were damaged and the lights were completely cut off," Khinshtein says, adding that two teenagers were injured.
At least one killed in Russian attack on Odesapublished at 06:55 British Summer Time
Image source, Getty Images
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Firefighters in Kharkiv following a Russian drone attack
A Russian strike on the Odesa region in Ukraine killed at least one person.
Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region, says the attack struck private residential buildings, causing fires to break out.
Hundreds of miles away, the north-eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv was also targeted, the head of the region says.
Oleh Synegubov says 20 drones attacked in several waves, lasting more than two hours.
He adds four people are being treated for "acute stress reactions" and that fires broke out in several locations.
Another man was seriously injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region, after overnight and early morning attacks. Officials say Russia used anti-tank missiles as well as drones.
More than 100 Ukrainian drones shot down, says Russiapublished at 06:43 British Summer Time
Image source, Getty Images
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Russia says Ukraine targeted Moscow with drones for the second night in a row
All four of Moscow’s airports were closed for several hours overnight after Ukraine launched a drone attack, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia says.
The airports have reopened, but Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin says at least 19 Ukrainian drones were destroyed on their way to the Russian capital.
Across the country, Russia air defence units shot down 105 Ukrainian drones, according to military reports in Russian state media.
Governors in other Russian cities, including Penza and Voronezh, say they were also targeted.
Ukraine attacks close Moscow airports, days before ceasefire duepublished at 06:39 British Summer Time
Russia says Ukraine has launched an overnight drone attack on Moscow for the second night in a row.
Airports across the capital were closed for several hours, but have since reopened. Ukraine has not yet commented on the attacks. No causalities were reported.
The Ukrainian attacks come days before a temporary ceasefire that Russia announced earlier this week, which is set to run from 8 May until 11 May.
The ceasefire coincides with Victory Day parades in Russia - with major events in Moscow on Friday - which mark the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukraine continue, with at least one killed in Odesa, and strikes on Kharkiv also reported.
Our teams in London, Moscow, and Ukraine will bring you the latest news and analysis from across the region.