The situation 1529– May 29, 2026

1. A Russian Geran-2 drone struck a multi-story apartment complex in Galati, Romania, on the evening of May 28-29.
2. Senior Kremlin officials are leaning into two separate responses to the drone strike in Romania that together aim to deflect Russia’s responsibility for the drone incident, falsely blame Ukraine, and test NATO’s response to Russian drone incursions.
3. Russia is reportedly allowing private businesses to purchase air defense and counter-drone systems as Russia seeks to offset the cost of its increased air defense needs on Russian federal subjects and entities outside of the federal government.
4. A Russian state-owned polling institution indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings fell again following a slight increase that interrupted weeks of falling approval ratings.
5. Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area.
6. Russian forces launched one Iskander-M ballistic missile/S-400 air defense missile, and 232 long-range drones at Ukraine overnight.

The full update of the Russian offensive 1529 is available on UNDERSTANDING WAR.