On the morning of May 13, 2026, Ukraine was once again under a massive attack by Russian drones. Air raid alerts spread across the regions, dozens of strike UAVs were recorded in the sky, and explosions, air defense operations, fires, infrastructure damage, and casualties among civilians were reported in various cities.
This does not look like preparation for peace. It looks like the continuation of a terrorist war against the civilian population.
Putin can tell Donald Trump and other Western politicians that Russia supposedly wants negotiations, ‘settlement,’ and an end to the war. But the facts on the same day say otherwise: while Moscow speaks of diplomacy, Russian drones fly to Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava, Odesa, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy region, and Dnipropetrovsk region.
It is in this gap between words and actions that the true position of the Kremlin is visible. Peace is not built by attacks on substations, residential areas, civilian vehicles, industrial facilities, and children.
Kyiv and Khmelnytskyi under attack: Russia is testing Ukrainian skies again
Explosions thundered in Kyiv during the air raid alert. According to city authorities, air defense forces were working against Russian drones moving towards the capital from the north.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that air defense is operating in the city and urged residents to stay in shelters. For Ukrainians, this is already a too familiar formula: siren, shelter, waiting, explosions, reports of drone movements, and hope that air defense will manage to shoot down the target before it hits.
Almost simultaneously, alarming reports came from Khmelnytskyi. Explosions were heard there during the day on May 13, and local residents reported smoke after the attack. According to preliminary information, Ukrainian air defense forces were engaged in combat work against enemy targets.
Official data on the consequences were being clarified, but the picture itself was extremely clear: Russia attacked Ukraine in the middle of the day when people are working, running errands, at home, in schools, hospitals, offices, and on the streets.
This does not look like a ‘desire for peace.’
When a country truly wants peace, it stops striking cities. When a leader truly seeks an agreement, he does not send new groups of drones into the airspace of a neighboring state.
But the Putin regime acts differently. It talks about negotiations and then launches another wave of attacks. It tries to appear as a participant in the diplomatic process but in practice continues to terrorize civilians.
According to Reuters, on May 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of daytime attacks by Russian drones; Ukrainian military reported 139 drones launched since Tuesday evening, 111 of which were shot down or suppressed.
The Guardian also wrote that after the end of a brief three-day ceasefire, Russia resumed deadly strikes on Ukraine, including drone attacks and strikes on energy facilities, residential buildings, and public infrastructure.
For the Israeli audience, this is especially understandable. In Israel, they know well what it is like to live under the threat of rockets, drones, and sirens. Therefore, the Russian tactic against Ukraine does not look like a ‘military operation,’ but like systematic intimidation of the population.
Swarm of drones over Ukraine: the terrorist logic of the Russian war
On the morning of May 13, monitoring channels and the Ukrainian Air Force reported large-scale movements of Russian strike drones. New groups entered Ukrainian airspace from different directions, and the alarm covered region after region.
The Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, and Kyiv regions were under threat.
In the Kyiv region, after the alarm was announced, a powerful explosion was reported in the Bucha district. Separate groups of drones were recorded in the north of the Kyiv region, in the area of Dymer and Ivankiv, as well as in the southwest direction.
In the Vinnytsia region, drones were moving towards Nemyriv. Ivano-Frankivsk Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv warned residents of possible danger and urged them to respond carefully to alarm signals.
These are not random strikes. This is pressure on the entire country. Drones are launched in groups to stretch Ukrainian air defense, force people to sit in shelters for hours, knock out energy, disrupt transport, industry, and normal city life.
That is why the word ‘terror’ here does not seem like an exaggeration. When the target becomes not only the front but also the everyday life of millions of people, it is no longer just a war of armies. It is a war against society.
Poltava, Odesa, Kharkiv: strikes on energy, industry, and residential areas
In the Poltava community, as a result of Russian UAVs hitting a substation, there were serious problems with electricity supply. According to local authorities, thousands of household consumers and hundreds of legal subscribers were left without power.
A strike on a substation is not an abstract ‘infrastructure.’ It is refrigerators, elevators, water, communication, hospitals, enterprise operations, elderly people in apartments, and families with children. Russia perfectly understands the effect of such attacks.
In Odesa, industrial infrastructure was hit. After several waves of attacks, warehouse and utility premises were damaged, and local fires broke out. Even when there are no casualties, such strikes destroy the economy, logistics, and sense of security.
Kharkiv was also under fire at night. City Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported two strikes on the Shevchenkivskyi and Kholodnohirskyi districts. In the Kharkiv region, according to local administration, 14 settlements were under shelling, and people were injured.
NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency views such attacks not as a distant Ukrainian chronicle but as part of a general picture of threats well known to Israel: drones, rockets, strikes on cities, an attempt to break the civilian population and force the country to pay for its independence with fear.
Casualties, injured children, and lies about negotiations
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian attacks became especially severe. The enemy struck almost 30 times in three districts of the region. According to regional authorities, people were killed, and dozens were injured.
In Kryvyi Rih, an enterprise, infrastructure, and a gas pipeline were damaged. Two people were killed there, and four more were injured. Among the most terrible reports is the severe injury of a nine-month-old girl.
There were also casualties in Synelnykove. In Nikopol, the Marganets, Myrove, and Pokrovske communities were shelled. Teenagers were injured, and a 16-year-old boy was hospitalized.
In Kherson, Russian drone terror continued from the morning. In the Korabel district, a drone attacked a 43-year-old man. Later, in the Central district, a drone hit a civilian car, injuring the driver. Another man was injured during artillery shelling.
In the Sumy region, a Russian drone severely injured a 13-year-old teenager in the Bilopillia community. The family had previously evacuated from the danger zone but returned for one day to plant a garden. An explosion occurred near the child.
This is the answer to the question of whether Putin wants peace. Not by statements. By actions.
If after talks about negotiations drones fly, if after words about a ‘peace process’ substations burn, if after diplomatic phrases children end up in hospitals, then the Kremlin uses the topic of peace as a screen. And Russia’s real policy remains the same — terror, pressure, destruction, and an attempt to force Ukraine to capitulate.
Reuters separately reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated the lack of real progress in US-Russia relations, despite optimistic rhetoric around Moscow-Washington contacts.
This is an important signal: even the Russian side itself admits that talks do not yield results. But instead of a real ceasefire, Russia continues to attack.
Why this matters for Israel
Israel knows the price of words from terrorists and aggressive regimes. They can talk about negotiations, ceasefire, pause, ‘de-escalation,’ and mediators, but it is necessary to check not the statements, but the rockets, drones, and actions on the ground.
The Ukrainian example shows the same thing. While Putin talks to the West about peace, Russia continues to kill, maim, and destroy. This is not diplomacy. This is blackmail under the guise of diplomacy.
For Ukraine, such an attack is another day of war. For Israel, it is another reminder that the threats of drones, rockets, and terror are becoming a common problem for democratic countries. And if terrorist tactics work in one region, they will be copied in another.
Therefore, the main conclusion after the attacks on May 13 sounds harsh but honest: Putin does not demonstrate a desire for peace. Russia behaves like a terrorist state that uses negotiation words for external appearances, but in reality continues the war against peaceful cities.