Russia Launches Massive Drone Wave After Ceasefire Expires, Killing 9 — Then Tests ICBM

The Ceasefire Is Dead. Here's What Replaced It.

The ink wasn't dry on the expired ceasefire before Russia launched one of its heaviest drone barrages in months.

According to BBC News, nine people were killed and at least 28 injured in Russian drone strikes across Ukraine on Wednesday, May 13. Fourteen regions were hit. The worst damage landed in the Dnipropetrovsk region — eight dead, eleven injured.

According to The Guardian's war briefing, Russia launched more than 200 drones overnight after the ceasefire lapsed Monday.

The Numbers Are Brutal

According to Ukrinform, Ukraine's Air Defense Forces shot down 111 of 139 Russian drones in one overnight wave — an 80% intercept rate. The remaining 28 found targets.

A drone struck an apartment building in Kryvyi Rih — President Zelensky's hometown. According to The Guardian, two people were killed and four injured, including a nine-month-old girl whose leg was severed. The infant remains in critical condition, according to Ukrinform.

In Kyiv, debris from a downed drone hit a 16-story residential building in the Obolon district, sparking a fire. Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed the strike.

Energy infrastructure in the Mykolaiv region was hit, triggering blackouts, according to regional governor Vitaliy Kim.

While Russia Was Bombing, Putin Was Bragging

On Tuesday, May 12, Putin personally oversaw the test launch of Russia's new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, according to NPR. Putin declared it "the most powerful missile in the world," claiming its combined warhead yield is more than four times higher than any Western counterpart.

The Sarmat — called "Satan II" in Western intelligence circles — is designed to replace roughly 40 aging Soviet-built Voyevoda missiles. Putin said it will enter combat service by end of 2026.

The timing is significant: Putin test-fired a nuclear-capable ICBM the same week he ended a ceasefire and resumed mass drone strikes on civilians.

What Mainstream Coverage Is Getting Wrong

Left-leaning outlets like AP News and BBC are leading with Trump's peace-talk optimism as the news frame — "Trump talks of possible peace" — while burying the operational reality that Russia resumed killing civilians within hours of the ceasefire ending.

That framing misrepresents what occurred. The ceasefire was actually three days of Russia reloading.

The Sarmat test is being reported as a separate "nuclear modernization" story. A nation that test-fires its most powerful ICBM while simultaneously launching 200-drone barrages on civilian apartment buildings sends a unified strategic message. Treating these as disconnected events obscures that reality.

The Ceasefire Was Already Collapsing Before It Ended

According to The Guardian, Zelensky said on Sunday — while the ceasefire was still technically active — that "the Russian army is not complying with the ceasefire and is not even really trying to."

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov admitted peace is a "very long road with many complicated details." Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow won't even resume talks until Ukraine withdraws from the Donetsk region — a condition Kyiv has flatly rejected.

Putin's preferred peace negotiator is Germany's former chancellor Gerhard Schröder, according to The Guardian. Schröder is a personal friend of Putin who has refused to publicly condemn the invasion. The EU and Ukraine would never accept him. Proposing Schröder doesn't advance peace negotiations.

Ukraine Is Hitting Back

Ukrainian forces struck gas facilities in Russia's Orenburg region — more than 1,500 kilometers from Ukraine's borders, according to Zelensky's address reported by The Guardian. That represents deep penetration into Russian territory.

Ukrinform reported the Perm oil refinery completely shut down following a May 7 Ukrainian drone attack that caused fires and damaged equipment. Drone strikes were also confirmed on an industrial facility in Yaroslavl and a Transneft oil transportation facility in Bashkortostan.

Zelensky said Ukraine's current frontline position and long-range strike capability are "at their highest level in years."

The Current Situation

The three-day ceasefire produced zero strategic change and nine Ukrainian civilian deaths the moment it expired. Russia tested its most powerful nuclear weapon the same week. Peace talks have no agreed format, no agreed mediator, and no agreed preconditions.

For those watching from afar: the gap between Washington's peace optimism and the missiles landing on apartment buildings in Kryvyi Rih is substantial. A nine-month-old girl lost her leg the morning after the ceasefire ended.