Ukrainian forces counterattacked near Bilytske, north of Pokrovsk, as Russian forces continued attacks in the area.

Ukrainian forces counterattacked near Bilytske, north of Pokrovsk.

Ukrainian defenders launched a new offensive on the Oleksandrivka front in early May.

Ukrainian forces conducted active defense with elements of counteroffensive action on the Sloviansk and Kramatorsk fronts in May 2026, but Russian offensive pressure continued.

Russian shelling in Donetsk Oblast injured one person after destroying homes and businesses.

In early May, Ukraine’s SBS forces shifted from low-intensity, rare use of the Hornet to massed Hornet drone patrols of major roads in southeast, Russia-occupied Ukraine, paying the most intense attention to major highways between the Ukrainian cities of Donetsk, Mariupol, and Melitopol.

Selected video footage reviewed by Kyiv Post has shown two and even three Hornets operating around a single stretch of highway, and follow-up strikes taking place within seconds of an initial hit. Assisted by reconnaissance drones orbiting over roadway sections nearly 24/7, Hornet drone pilots from at least six SBS strike units identified by Kyiv Post had, by late May, made those roadways almost impassable to military vehicle traffic, except in bad weather.

Russian forces changed their priorities in the offensive on the 'belt of fortresses' in Donetsk Oblast and switched efforts to capture Konstantinovka after failed attempts to advance on Sviatohirsk.