On May 5, 2026, the Russian army once again struck not at the front, but at Ukrainian cities where people lived, worked, and simply were present. In Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, aerial bombs hit the central part of the city. In Zaporizhzhia, the Russian strike also resulted in heavy civilian casualties.
According to confirmed data as of the evening of May 5, at least 5 deaths are known in Kramatorsk. The number of injured is being clarified: initial reports mentioned 5 injured, later Ukrainian sources reported a larger number of injured. In Zaporizhzhia, according to the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Ivan Fedorov, the number of deaths after the Russian attack rose to 12 people, and 16 injured were also reported.
Russia struck the center of Kramatorsk: bombs fell where people were
Russian troops attacked Kramatorsk around 5:00 PM on May 5. According to the head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration Vadym Filashkin, three high-explosive aerial bombs were dropped on the city center. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the strike hit “right in the city center, on people.”
This is an important detail: it is not about a random hit in an uninhabited area or a military target on the front line. The strike hit an urban environment where there could be residential buildings, shops, transport, passersby, utility and medical services nearby.
That is why this attack in Israel should be perceived not as a distant Ukrainian news story, but as a familiar terrorist logic: to strike at the civilian sector, frighten the city, and make people live in anticipation of the next explosion.
What is known about the dead and injured
A rescue operation continued at the attack site in Kramatorsk. Police, State Emergency Service, medics, and utility services were working. Zelensky separately emphasized that the number of victims could increase because after such strikes, data changes as debris is cleared and damaged buildings are inspected.
According to Ukrainian media reports citing law enforcement, the strike is classified as a war crime. Some updates also indicated that FAB-250 type aerial munitions with UMPK modules were used, and the hit was recorded in a densely populated residential area.
For the residents of Kramatorsk, this is not just another line in a report. This is a city that has lived near the war for many years, but each such strike again shows: Russia continues to use terror against civilians as a method of pressure.
Zaporizhzhia: the number of dead rose to 12
On the same day, the Russian army also struck Zaporizhzhia. According to Ukrainian sources, the city was attacked with guided aerial bombs and drones. After the strike, fires broke out, cars, a store, and industrial facilities were burning; damage to residential buildings, a service station, and a car wash was also reported.
Initially, the data on casualties was lower, but by the evening of May 5, the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Ivan Fedorov reported that the number of dead had risen to 12. Ukrainian media also wrote about 16 injured, one of the injured was in serious condition.
This means that in one day, Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities once again turned ordinary civilian places into a zone of mass death.
Why this is important for the Israeli audience
Israelis do not need an explanation of what a strike on a peaceful city is. Here, they well understand how terror works: it targets not only buildings but also the sense of security, the habitual life, the ability of society to maintain normalcy.
Kramatorsk and Zaporizhzhia on May 5 became part of the same picture that Ukraine sees daily: the Russian army strikes at civilian infrastructure, residential neighborhoods, city centers, people in broad daylight.
For readers of Nikk.Agency — Israel News | Nikk.Agency, this story is also important because it directly shows the connection between the Ukrainian and Israeli experience. In both cases, it is about a war against society, where the enemy tries to break not only the army but also civilian resilience.
Strikes on cities are not “military statistics,” but a strategy of intimidation
Russian propaganda usually tries to dissolve such attacks in words about “military targets” and “strikes on objects.” But when bombs fall in the city center, when civilians die, when cars, shops, and houses burn, this rhetoric stops working.
The facts speak for themselves: on May 5, Russia struck Kramatorsk and Zaporizhzhia; in Kramatorsk, at least 5 deaths are confirmed, in Zaporizhzhia — 12 deaths. This is not an abstract “escalation.” These are specific killed people, specific families, specific cities that once again experienced Russian terror.
What will happen next
Data on the consequences of the strikes may be updated because rescue operations and damage recording continue. That is why in such cases it is important not to underestimate the scale of the attack, but also not to present preliminary figures as final.
As of the evening of May 5, 2026, the verified picture looks like this: Russia struck with aerial bombs in the center of Kramatorsk, where at least 5 people died; in Zaporizhzhia, after the Russian attack, 12 deaths and injured civilians are known. Both attacks hit the urban environment and became further evidence that the Russian war against Ukraine remains a war against peaceful people.