Russia launches 1,500+ drone assault

Russia launched one of its biggest aerial assaults of the war over May 13 and May 14, with drones and missiles hitting Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities after a short ceasefire lapsed, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian authorities said more than 1,500 drones and more than 50 missiles were fired over the two days, while rescue crews worked through rubble in the capital. (cbsnews.com) President Volodymyr Zelensky said a strike destroyed part of a residential building in Kyiv from the first to the ninth floor. By Friday, his office said 24 people had been killed in that building, including three children. (kyivindependent.com) The barrage extended beyond Kyiv to Odesa, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk and Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials and news reports said. Zelensky described the attack as “massive and virtually nonstop” and said it lasted nearly 48 hours. (kyivindependent.com) He said 20 locations were hit in the capital, including a school and a veterinary clinic, while search and rescue operations continued. ### How large was the latest wave? Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 675 one-way attack drones and 56 missiles in the overnight attack that began on the evening of May 13. Ukrinform, citing the Air Force, said Ukrainian defenses shot down or suppressed 652 drones and 41 missiles. Zelensky later said on X that Russia had used more than 1,560 drones against Ukrainian cities and communities since midnight the previous day. (cbsnews.com) CBS News reported that Ukrainian officials counted more than 1,500 drones and over 50 missiles across the previous two days. That made the assault one of the heaviest 48-hour aerial attacks of the war, according to Ukrainian and other media reports. (cbsnews.com) ### What happened in Kyiv? Kyiv took the deadliest blow of the attack, with a residential building partially collapsing after it was struck, according to Ukrainian officials. Zelensky’s office said on May 15 that the missile strike on the building killed 24 people, including three children. The same statement said the destruction ran from the first floor to the ninth. The Kyiv Independent reported that at least 48 people were injured and that emergency crews had rescued 11 people from the rubble while others remained missing. (kyivindependent.com) Zelensky said 20 sites were hit across the capital. ### What did Zelensky say about Russia’s tactics? Zelensky said Russia had amassed drones and missiles over time and “intentionally calculated” the strike to make it harder for Ukrainian air defenses to cope. (cbsnews.com) He said 94% of the drones were intercepted, but only 73% of the missiles were shot down, and he renewed calls for stronger ballistic-missile defense. In a later address posted by his office on May 14, he said Ukraine was preparing steps with partners and that sanctions on Russia “must be more painful.” (president.gov.ua) The Ukrainian president also said a preliminary report showed that a Kh-101 missile that hit a Kyiv building had been manufactured in the second quarter of this year, which he cited as evidence that Russia was still obtaining components despite sanctions. (kyivindependent.com) That account was reported by the Kyiv Independent. ### What comes next diplomatically? Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said after the strike that he had instructed officials to initiate a United Nations Security Council meeting in response to what he called Russia’s killings of civilians and attacks on humanitarian personnel. U.N. listings show the council’s meetings schedule and recent Ukraine sessions, though a new meeting tied to the May 14 attack was not yet visible in the material reviewed. (cbsnews.com) On May 15, Zelensky visited the site of the destroyed residential building in Kyiv, according to his office. His administration said rescue and recovery work was continuing as Ukraine sought more air-defense support and pressed partners for additional sanctions steps. (kyivindependent.com) (president.gov.ua)