Russia launches 800 drones on Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia launched at least 800 drones on May 14 in a broad attack on Ukraine that he said deliberately targeted regions nearest the borders of NATO countries. Reuters reported the daytime barrage killed at least six people and struck critical infrastructure in western Ukraine, while Poland said it scrambled fighter jets as a precaution. Ukrainian officials said Russia then followed with a separate overnight combined strike of missiles and drones aimed mainly at Kyiv. By May 15, rescue crews were still working in the capital and Ukrainian authorities were updating casualty counts. ### Where did the figure of about 800 drones come from? Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram that since midnight on May 14 Moscow had launched at least 800 drones, according to Reuters. He said the attack was one of the longest mass assaults of the war and that it was focused on areas closest to NATO borders. Reuters said the strikes continued into the evening, when Russia added missiles. (usnews.com) Ukrinform, citing Ukraine’s Air Force, separately reported that the overnight phase began at 1800 on May 13, immediately after a “massive daytime drone attack” involving nearly 800 unmanned aerial vehicles. That account treats the daytime barrage and the later overnight missile-and-drone strike as linked but distinct phases. (usnews.com) ### Which parts of Ukraine were hit? Reuters said Russia targeted critical infrastructure in western Ukraine and that the attack killed at least six people and wounded dozens. Zelenskiy said railway infrastructure was hit 23 times during the barrage, according to a presidential adviser cited by Reuters, though train traffic continued. (ukrinform.net) Kyiv became the main target in the overnight phase, according to Ukraine’s Air Force as cited by Ukrinform. The Air Force said radar tracked 731 aerial threats in that later attack: 56 missiles and 675 drones. Preliminary data showed Ukrainian defenses shot down or suppressed 41 missiles and 652 drones, while hits by 15 missiles and 23 attack drones were recorded at 24 locations. (usnews.com) ### Was this one attack or two? May 14 is the key date in the public reporting, but Ukrainian and Reuters accounts describe two waves. Reuters reported a daytime drone assault on Wednesday, May 14, and said missiles were added later in the day. Ukrinform said that after the daytime drone barrage of nearly 800 UAVs, Russia launched a separate overnight combined strike beginning on the evening of May 13 and continuing into May 14, with Kyiv as the main target. (ukrinform.net) Ukrainska Pravda later cited Zelenskiy as saying Russia used 1,567 drones and 56 missiles across May 13 and May 14. That figure points to the scale of the two-day sequence rather than a single strike package. ### How did NATO countries on the border respond? Poland’s armed forces said they scrambled fighter jets as a preventive measure because of Russian air strikes on Ukraine, Reuters reported. (usnews.com) Reuters said the action came during attacks near Poland’s border. Romania was cited in the initial context around increased monitoring, but I could not independently verify a Romanian government statement from May 14 confirming a matching scramble or patrol order. (pravda.com.ua) NATO has separately said it has been strengthening vigilance on its eastern flank after repeated Russian airspace violations in 2025, including through an activity called Eastern Sentry. (usnews.com) ### What was happening around the front and in diplomacy? Reuters said the May 14 strikes came after a three-day U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended on Monday. Ukraine’s military said 187 combat clashes were recorded over the previous 24 hours along the roughly 1,200-km front line, with the heaviest fighting near Pokrovsk and Huliaipole. (nato.int) Hungary summoned the Russian ambassador after strikes hit areas with ethnic Hungarian communities, Reuters reported. Zelenskiy, who was attending a security conference in Romania, called that move an “important message.” ### What should readers watch next? May 15 brought continuing updates from Kyiv, where Ukrainska Pravda reported rescue operations had ended and casualty figures were still rising after the overnight strike. (usnews.com) Zelenskiy also ordered response options after the large-scale attack, according to the outlet’s live coverage. Poland’s military and Ukraine’s Air Force are the named institutions most likely to publish the next official updates on any further launches, interceptions and border air-policing measures. (pravda.com.ua)