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Russia Pounds Ukraine in Heaviest Wartime Drone Attack Over 2 Days

Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
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Russia Pounds Ukraine in Heaviest Wartime Drone Attack Over 2 Days

Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Russia carried out its largest aerial attack over a two-day period since the start of its war in Ukraine, pounding the capital Kyiv and other cities with hundreds of drones, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.

Russia had launched 1,567 drones since the start of Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. At least 15 civilians have been killed over the two days, officials said.

He said Moscow had launched more than 670 attack drones and 56 missiles overnight, and air defense units shot down 41 of the missiles and 652 drones, the air force said.

"These are definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end," Reuters quoted Zelenskiy as saying.

"It's important that partners do not remain silent about this strike. And it is equally important to continue supporting the protection of our ⁠skies."

A curtain blows out of a broken window of a damaged residential building, following Russian drone and missile strikes in Kyiv on May 14, 2026. (Photo by Roman PILIPEY / AFP)

At least nine ⁠people, including a 12-year-old girl, were killed in Kyiv. Six people were killed in a daytime attack focused on western Ukraine on Wednesday, officials said.

Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The war, which has killed hundreds of thousands and ravaged swathes of Ukraine, has continued despite a US-backed peace push although Moscow's battlefield advances have stalled this year.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow on Thursday's attacks.

Kyiv was the main target of the overnight strikes, Zelenskiy said, adding that there was damage across 20 locations in the city and also in the ⁠Kyiv region.

About 40 people including two children were wounded, officials said.

Apartment interiors are seen in a damaged residential house following Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced a day of mourning in the capital on Friday.

Dozens of emergency workers were cutting through concrete at the site of a Russian drone strike on a nine-story residential building where an entire section had been destroyed.

Zelenskiy said that nearly 20 people were still missing as rescuers cleared the debris.

More than 1,500 rescue workers have been deployed across Ukraine to deal with the aftermath of the strikes, including nearly 600 ⁠in Kyiv.

Zelenskiy said that ⁠overall 180 facilities had been damaged in Ukraine, including more than 50 residential buildings.

He said a UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs vehicle had come under fire from drones during a humanitarian mission in the southern city of Kherson.

Twenty-eight people including three children were wounded in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, where civilian infrastructure was targeted, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Ukraine's energy ministry said electricity supplies in 11 regions had been disrupted, and the strikes also targeted port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region and railways, officials said.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attack - while US President Donald Trump is visiting China - showed Russia wanted to continue fighting despite Washington's peace push, and that pressure was needed on Moscow to end the war.

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World

Iran Says Filed Complaint to UN Aviation Watchdog over US Flight Restrictions

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
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Iran Says Filed Complaint to UN Aviation Watchdog over US Flight Restrictions

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)

Iran has lodged a complaint with the United Nations over US sanctions against its aviation sector that have forced the cancellation of flights, state media reported Monday. 

This month the United States imposed restrictions on the entire aviation industry in Iran and vowed to take a hard line against companies that assist it, said AFP. 

As the sanctions took effect last Wednesday, major airlines were forced to cancel international flights after several countries implemented bans. 

"To defend the legitimate rights of the aviation industry and counter illegal restrictions imposed by America, Iran has drafted and submitted a formal protest to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)," said civil aviation chief Abouzar Shiroudi, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency. 

The ICAO is a UN agency based in Montreal, Canada that sets and regulates standards for civil aviation. 

"In cooperation with the foreign ministry, we have also filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice at The Hague," Shiroudi added. 

For Iranians wishing to enter or exit their country, destinations in neighboring Türkiye are now the primary options for flights. 

Routes also remain available to Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Russia, Malaysia and Thailand, with flights to the United Arab Emirates suspended. 

An official from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport said Sunday that around 30 international destinations were still being served by Iranian airlines. 

 

 

 

World

Air Base at the Center of a UK Terror Probe Has Been Used by the US Air Force during the Iran War

28 September 2026, United Kingdom, Fairford: A police checkpoint near RAF Fairford after major incident was declared on Sunday, with armed police manning a cordon near the village of Whelford in Gloucestershire, near RAF Fairford which is used by the United States Air Force (USAF). Photo: Ben Birchall/PA Wire/dpa
28 September 2026, United Kingdom, Fairford: A police checkpoint near RAF Fairford after major incident was declared on Sunday, with armed police manning a cordon near the village of Whelford in Gloucestershire, near RAF Fairford which is used by the United States Air Force (USAF). Photo: Ben Birchall/PA Wire/dpa
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Air Base at the Center of a UK Terror Probe Has Been Used by the US Air Force during the Iran War

28 September 2026, United Kingdom, Fairford: A police checkpoint near RAF Fairford after major incident was declared on Sunday, with armed police manning a cordon near the village of Whelford in Gloucestershire, near RAF Fairford which is used by the United States Air Force (USAF). Photo: Ben Birchall/PA Wire/dpa
28 September 2026, United Kingdom, Fairford: A police checkpoint near RAF Fairford after major incident was declared on Sunday, with armed police manning a cordon near the village of Whelford in Gloucestershire, near RAF Fairford which is used by the United States Air Force (USAF). Photo: Ben Birchall/PA Wire/dpa

British police arrested five men on Sunday on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism and explosives offenses outside RAF Fairford, a military base in western England that’s operated by the US Air Force.

Three suspicious vehicles are being searched, and counterterror officers are leading the investigation.

Here’s what to know about the base.

Fairford is a base for US bombers RAF Fairford, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of London, is one of several bases in Britain that has been used by the US Air Force under an agreement dating from the 1950s. It is home to the headquarters of the US Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and is a forward operating location for US Air Force Global Strike Command.

There are about 11,000 American military personnel stationed at various sites in Britain, according to the House of Commons Library. The number of US personnel at RAF Fairford is not publicly available.

Fairford's long runway makes it suitable for heavy bombers, and it has been used in conflicts including the 2003 Iraq war and the US-Israeli war on Iran this year.

It has been used for strikes on Iran

Britain did not join the US-Israeli war on Iran that began Feb. 28 and initially denied President Donald Trump’s request to use bases in the UK to strike Iran. But then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced days later that he had agreed to let the US use bases in Britain for “defensive” operations against Iran’s missiles and their launch sites following Iranian attacks on UK interests and Britain’s allies in the Gulf.

American B-1 and B-52 bombers have taken off from Fairford for operations during the Iran conflict.

Security is tight at US bases in Britain

Anti-war campaigners have protested outside the perimeter fence of the base several times since the start of the Iran war.

It’s unclear whether the arrests are linked to the Iran war. British security officials say proxies linked to Iran are behind a string of arson and sabotage attempts in the UK and other countries, many of them targeting the Jewish community. They have previously warned that Tehran could expand its targets in the UK if conflicts in the Middle East continue.

Some local residents said security appeared to have been heightened around RAF Fairford in recent days, with heavy vehicles parked across entrance gates.

Another American base, RAF Lakenheath in eastern England, confirmed that it is on Charlie alert, the second-highest threat level that can be issued by the US Department of Defense. According to US military websites, Force Protection Condition Charlie “applies when an incident occurs or intelligence is received indicating some form of terrorist action targeting personnel or facilities is likely.”

There was no immediate confirmation of the threat level at RAF Fairford. US European Command said it would not discuss "specific force protection measures."

World

Residents Brace for a Possible Russian Hybrid Attack on Poland's Border with Ukraine

A bunker built of sandbags, which serves as shelter for border guards, stands next to the lanes at the Dorohusk-Jagodzin border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, in Dorohusk, Poland, on Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Attila Husejnow)
A bunker built of sandbags, which serves as shelter for border guards, stands next to the lanes at the Dorohusk-Jagodzin border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, in Dorohusk, Poland, on Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Attila Husejnow)
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Residents Brace for a Possible Russian Hybrid Attack on Poland's Border with Ukraine

A bunker built of sandbags, which serves as shelter for border guards, stands next to the lanes at the Dorohusk-Jagodzin border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, in Dorohusk, Poland, on Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Attila Husejnow)
A bunker built of sandbags, which serves as shelter for border guards, stands next to the lanes at the Dorohusk-Jagodzin border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, in Dorohusk, Poland, on Sept. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Attila Husejnow)

Three times in one day, phones lit up across this Polish border community with a warning: A drone or a missile could cross from Ukraine, and residents should stay vigilant in case they might need to take cover.

Above the village of Dorohusk in eastern Poland, vapor trails cut across the pale blue sky and military helicopters rumbled overhead. Just 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) away, traffic at the border crossing into Ukraine was suspended three times, and staff were even evacuated once.

The alerts and disruptions on Thursday came as The Associated Press was visiting the village. They reflected a new reality along Poland's eastern frontier, where the war in Ukraine — now 4 1/2 years old — has felt increasingly close.

Russia isn’t at war with Poland, but over the past few years European leaders say it’s mounted a series of so-called hybrid attacks to pressure adversaries in the West and NATO that include sabotage, disinformation and cyberattacks. Poland is worried that the drones or missiles strikes could spill over from Ukraine, whether by accident or as part of a Russian strategy of ambiguous attacks.

The anxiety intensified after two Russian drones exploded on the Ukrainian side of the Dorohusk-Yahodyn crossing in the early hours of Sept. 13. The explosions could clearly be heard in Dorohusk.

“There is new restlessness and fear because you could hear those explosions very well on that night in our village,” said Wojciech Sawa, the Dorohusk mayor. “We had never had something like that before. This was the first time the sirens wailed.”

Poland is preparing for a more serious Russian hybrid attack Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Sept. 17 that Russia was planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries supporting Ukraine, among them Poland, and regions bordering Ukraine would be especially vulnerable in the coming months. Other European leaders and intelligence services have shared his warnings that Russia is likely to step up its hybrid campaign.

In Dorohusk, people have lived in the shadow of the war for years. They watched Ukrainian refugees flee across the frontier in the early days of Russia’s 2022 invasion and, this July, had a Russian missile pass through airspace in eastern Poland before crashing some 90 kilometers (56 miles) inside the country.

But the recent drone attacks and the Polish government's efforts to prepare the population for further serious incidents have brought a new sense of apprehension — and also confusion — among locals.

Kids in border regions have to evacuate when sirens warn of air threat Jarosław Wójcicki, the Dorohusk school’s director, said staff, including the school psychologist, now discuss with students “practically every day” how to stay safe.

The school had to be evacuated once so far and Wójcicki showed the two rooms in the basement of the school building where the kids took cover. Windows had been boarded up to avoid glass shards hurting anyone in case of an explosion.

“The older children had no problem at all, without showing any particular emotion,” the director said. "You could see a little fear among the younger children, but they were well looked after by their teachers.”

Wójcicki is responsible for the safety of hundreds of children who travel from nearby villages to attend school in Dorohusk, and his voice wavered as he described the enormity of the task.

Poland's Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz visited the Dorohusk-Yahodyn border crossing on Sept. 22 and announced new air defense elements were being brought to the border region. He added that Patriot batteries were deployed in the two Polish regions bordering Ukraine, including the one where Dorohusk is located.

More work needs to be done on civil preparedness

While the government’s warnings are stark, even communities closest to Ukraine are still catching up on civil defense preparedness.

“We are at the beginning of the process of building civil resilience and the resilience of the state to threats," said Mirosław Sokal, head of resident safety for the city of Lublin, 90 km west of Dorohusk. “We have to remember that over the past 40 years we thought we would be living in peace.”

He said, given the lack of more solid infrastructure, Poles should respect one minimal rule when there's an air threat: get inside and put two walls between them and any window.

Sawa, the Dorohusk mayor, said villagers typically live in individual homes with basements and that is the obvious place to hide in case of air threats. “If I don’t have a basement myself, my neighbor likely does,” he said.

But people on the streets of Dorohusk seemed more confused about their options in case of a real attack.

“For now, I sleep well at night, so I don’t really hear it," said Irena Popek, a woman in her 80s. If planes are coming, she said, her basement was not an option as it was flooded. "I simply have nowhere to hide, and that’s it.”

Renata Pastuszo, a local shop employee, said she continued working through the recent siren alarm because it's better to keep a positive spirit in front of the Russian threat.

Krzysztof Rulka, another resident, complained that alerts were now coming too often, leaving people confused about their meaning.

“If someone told me that a drone was going to explode in the center of Dorohusk, then I would know what to do,” he said. "But this kind of confusion — there's an air attack somewhere in Ukraine — well, what am I supposed to do now? Run to Germany?”