Moscow Announces Final Phase in Kursk, Regains Sudzha as Drones Strike Ukraine

Moscow announced it had entered the final phase of its offensive in the Kursk region and said it had regained control of Sudzha, while attacks with drones continued and Kiev accused Russia of executing five Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russian forces.

Il Cremlino confirmed the advance in the region of Kursk and said Vladimir Putin received updates from military leadership and ordered operations to be completed “il più rapidamente possibile” to reduce losses among Russian military and civilians.

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The Russian Defense Ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 77 Ukrainian drones during the night, while the Ukrainian air force reported a massive Russian attack with 117 drones, of which 74 were shot down.

The areas most affected were Sumy, Odessa, Kharkiv and Kiev, and the Russian Defense Ministry said a ballistic missile Iskander-M was launched from the Kursk region.

In parallel, the UN rights chief Volker Türk warned of a “dangerous escalation” and urged both Moscow and Kyiv to return to negotiations as civilian casualties rose.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was preparing a “massive new strike” and urged people to “protect your lives,” while the UN human rights chief Volker Türk called for “restraint” and urged both sides to resume negotiations.

Türk said “I strongly urge restraint. Resume negotiations and end the suffering,” and warned that the number of civilians killed or injured in Ukraine during the first four months of 2026 was 21% higher than during the same period in 2025.

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The UN figures cited by Türk put civilian deaths at 815 and injuries at 4,174 between January and April 2026, compared with 682 killed and 3,453 injured in the same period in 2025.

The UK statement at the UN Security Council said Russian attacks this month had killed nearly 200 civilians and injured over 1,500 more, and argued that “Russia is desperate because it is going backwards on the battlefield.”

In the same diplomatic arena, the UK said Russia’s use of mass attacks and threats to diplomats to leave Kyiv followed strikes that caused widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, schools, emergency service facilities, Ukrainian government buildings and cultural institutions.

As the war’s effects spread beyond Ukraine, Romania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said a Russian drone incident in Galati was a “grave and irresponsible escalation from Russia,” after a drone crashed onto the roof of a 10-story block of flats during a Russian overnight attack on neighboring Ukraine.

NATO said it would strengthen its defenses against all threats, including drones, after the crash caused an explosion and a fire that injured two people, while Romania’s authorities said the drone’s entire explosive payload detonated.

Romania’s Defense Ministry said it had seen Russian drones breach its airspace 28 times since Moscow began attacking Kyiv’s ports across the Danube river, and it said drone fragments had fallen in Romania at least 47 times.

Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Țoiu told FRANCE 24 she had little time for Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that it was too early to say where the drone had come from, while Putin questioned “Who in Romania says that this is a Russian drone?”

The France 24 report also said NATO’s SHAPE spokesperson Martin O'Donnell stated the drone that crashed into the apartment block in Romania was of Russian origin, as Zelensky said Russia was preparing a “massive new strike” on Ukraine.