Kyiv (6 May 2026) – Twenty-eight people were reportedly killed and 194 injured on 5 May alone in a wave of attacks by the Russian Federation, bringing the reported civilian toll across Ukraine since 1 May to at least 70 killed and more than 500 injured, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said today. HRMMU has verified many of the civilian casualties and continues to collect information.
“What is particularly alarming is both the scale of civilian casualties and the extent of territory affected in only a few days,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU. “More than 570 civilians have been reported killed and injured across 14 regions of Ukraine since 1 May.”
Between 1 and 5 May, numerous attacks by the Russian armed forces struck cities across Ukraine, causing high civilian casualties. On 5 May, aerial bombs struck an industrial area in Zaporizhzhia, reportedly killing at least 12 people and injuring 46. On the same day, aerial bombs hit central areas of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, reportedly killing at least six people and injuring 13. A series of long-range missile and drone strikes since Friday have killed and injured civilians across Ukraine, including in western Ukraine, in places such as Ternopil and Rivne, as well as in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Poltava and Odesa regions.
In some of the attacks, emergency workers and first responders were among those killed and injured when sites struck earlier were attacked a second time. In Poltava region, two emergency workers were among those killed and others among those injured when a second strike hit a gas extraction facility that had been hit earlier during the night between 4 and 5 May. In Kherson city, medical personnel came under attack by a short-range drone on 3 May as they arrived to provide medical assistance to people affected by a previous drone attack.
Many of the attacks happened when powerful weapons struck urban areas during daytime hours, which might have contributed to the high number of casualties.
“Many of the civilians killed and injured were carrying out ordinary civilian activities – commuting, working, shopping, walking or responding to earlier strikes,” said Bell. “In such circumstances, civilian harm is foreseeable.”
Ten people were reportedly killed in territory occupied by the Russian Federation between 1 and 5 May, including five in a drone attack on 5 May in Dzhankoi in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
In addition, at least two people were reported killed and 35 injured in the Russian Federation, in Cheboksary (Chuvash Republic), on 5 May.
Under international humanitarian law, an attacking party is under the obligation to take all feasible measures to minimize civilian casualties, including considering both the time of the attacks and the type of weapon to use.
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