Ukrainian forces are conducting reconnaissance and disrupting Russian ground transport lines in and around the occupied city of Mariupol in Donetsk region. This is happening about 105 kilometers from the front line.
The Ukrainian strikes demonstrate enhanced capabilities as part of Kiev's intensifying campaign of medium-range strikes against the Russian occupiers.
The document notes that the main target of the Ukrainian drones was the highway from Mariupol to Donetsk.
It is a major supply route for the Russian army. Ukrainian drone strikes will force the occupiers to withdraw weapons supplies and warehouses further into Russian territory.
Furthermore, Russian forces are unlikely to be holding positions in Kupyansk, having struggled for months to support a small and isolated group of servicemen who had infiltrated the city.
A Russian military blogger reported on May 7 that a group of about 20 Russian soldiers, who had reportedly been surrounded in the city hospital in Kupyansk since December 2025, were fighting their "last battle" and "held their positions until the very end" after a Ukrainian airstrike destroyed the hospital and killed most of the surviving personnel, suggesting that Russian forces no longer held positions in the center of Kupyansk.
Ukraine's Joint Forces spokesman Colonel Viktor Trehubov reported on March 28 that Ukrainian forces had identified only six active Russian call signs in Kupyansk, representing about 12 to 18 Russian servicemen in the city center.
Ukraine and Russia agreed to a three-day ceasefire from May 9 to 11 for the May 9 Victory Day parade and a prisoner exchange.
Russia continued to threaten retaliatory strikes on the city of Kiev before the May 9-11 ceasefire was announced.
A senior Kremlin official explicitly stated that Moscow demanded that Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the rest of Donetsk Oblast as a precondition for a ceasefire.
Capturing Donetsk Oblast is a goal for the Kremlin that Russian forces have so far failed to achieve.
In the spring of 2026, Russian forces are performing worse on the battlefield than when the Kremlin was emphasizing its demands for Donetsk Oblast in 2025.
Recently, Ukrainian forces have advanced towards Slavyansk and towards Khulyaypole.
Ukrainian forces have continued their campaign of long-range strikes against Russian defense, oil, and transportation infrastructure. Overnight, Russian forces launched 67 drones into Ukraine.