In one of the most dramatic escalations since the war began, Russia and Ukraine have traded deadly strikes and accusations, leaving civilians reeling and the world on edge. Over the past week, a series of drone and missile attacks has rocked both nations, with the conflict reaching new levels of intensity and drawing sharp warnings from international leaders.
The latest round of violence began on May 22, 2026, when a deadly attack struck a student dormitory in the Russian-occupied town of Starobilsk in Ukraine’s Luhansk region. According to Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, the overnight strike killed 18 people—many of them reportedly children—and injured at least 42 others. Three more are believed to be trapped beneath the rubble. Russian President Vladimir Putin was quick to accuse Ukraine of carrying out the attack, stating that it was executed in three waves using 16 drones. At a reception in Moscow, Putin declared, “There are no military facilities, intelligence service facilities or related services in the vicinity. Therefore, there is absolutely no basis for claiming that the munitions struck the building as a result of our air defence or electronic warfare systems.” He ordered the Russian military to prepare proposals for retaliation.
Ukrainian officials, however, disputed Russia’s version of events. Ukraine’s military said it had targeted the headquarters of Russia’s elite Rubicon drone unit in Starobilsk on the night of May 21-22, 2026, and insisted that they only strike “military infrastructure and facilities used for military purposes.” The Rubicon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies, formed in 2024, has been at the forefront of Russian drone technology and targeting. Ukraine accused the Rubicon unit of regularly striking civilians and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. The military further accused Russian media of circulating “manipulative information” about the Starobilsk attack, reiterating its commitment to adhering to the norms of international humanitarian law.
The aftermath of the Starobilsk strike was immediate and severe. Russian state-run television showed a 19-year-old student, Diana Shovkun, injured by a collapsing concrete slab. However, no images or footage of those killed were broadcast. The Russian state news agency TASS reported that the death toll of “children killed in the Ukrainian drone strike” had risen to 18, citing Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations. Such a high civilian toll, especially so far from the front lines, is rare and has intensified the war of words between Moscow and Kyiv.
In the wake of the Starobilsk attack, Russian authorities also reported that on May 23, falling debris from drones triggered a fire at an oil depot in Novorossiysk, a key Black Sea port, injuring two people and damaging several technical and administrative buildings. Private homes in the port city of Anapa, further north, were also damaged by drone fragments. No deaths were reported in these incidents, but the strikes underscored the growing reach and frequency of drone warfare in the conflict.
As tensions soared, the United States and Ukraine issued stark warnings of possible imminent Russian missile strikes. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv advised American citizens to seek shelter, warning that a missile attack could occur “at any time” in the coming days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed these concerns, referencing intelligence reports from American and European partners that Russia was preparing a strike with its powerful Oreshnik missile. “We count on a response from the world—and on a response that is not post factum, but preventive. Pressure must be put on Moscow so that it does not expand the war,” Zelensky urged in a post on X.
On May 23-24, Russia unleashed one of its largest bombardments on the Kyiv region since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that 600 drones and 90 missiles were launched overnight, with air defenses managing to shoot down 604 of the weapons. Despite these efforts, Kyiv suffered significant damage and at least four people were killed. The main target of the attack, according to Ukrainian officials, was the capital itself. Residents, like 62-year-old financier Nataliia Zvarych, took shelter in metro stations for hours. She recounted to Reuters, “We walked under the explosions, we saw things flying up there. It was terrifying, scary, we have been sitting here for more than three hours now, listening to the explosions up there.”
Central to the latest escalation was Russia’s use of the hypersonic Oreshnik missile, classified by the United States as an intermediate-range weapon capable of carrying multiple conventional or nuclear warheads. Its speed and unpredictable trajectory make it nearly impossible for Ukraine’s current air defense systems to intercept. This marked only the third time Russia has deployed the Oreshnik in combat. Ukrainian President Zelensky said the missile landed near Bila Tserkva in central Ukraine, and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the use of such a weapon as a “political scare-tactic and reckless nuclear-brinkmanship.” The European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, echoed this sentiment, while French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz both condemned the attack as a dangerous escalation.
The Russian Defense Ministry justified the missile strikes as “in response to Ukraine’s terrorist attacks on civilian targets within Russian territory.” Ukraine, for its part, has repeatedly denied targeting civilians. Instead, Ukrainian forces claim to have struck legitimate military targets, including the Rubicon headquarters in Starobilsk and a Russian drone pilot training camp in the occupied town of Snizhne. According to Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, a strike on the Snizhne facility on May 20-21 killed at least 65 cadets and an instructor. Footage posted on social media and geolocated by CNN showed a building ablaze in the area, lending credence to Ukraine’s account.
Ukraine also reported a successful attack on May 21 against the Russian security service headquarters and an air defense system in the Kherson region, resulting in nearly 100 Russian casualties. Additionally, Zelensky announced that Ukrainian security services had struck a chemical plant in Perm Krai, deep inside Russia—some 1,700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border—describing it as “one of Russia’s important military-industrial enterprises.” Video posted by Zelensky purported to show smoke rising from the facility.
As the tit-for-tat strikes intensify, so do calls for international intervention. Zelensky has urged the United States, Europe, and other allies to take decisive action to pressure Moscow toward peace, warning that the use of advanced weaponry like the Oreshnik missile could further destabilize the region. Meanwhile, the civilian population on both sides continues to bear the brunt of the conflict, seeking shelter from the relentless bombardments and hoping for a respite that remains elusive.
The events of the past week have underscored the war’s capacity for escalation and tragedy. As the world watches, the stakes—for Ukraine, Russia, and beyond—have never felt higher.