UPD from 4:13 p.m., May 21: Headline was changed for clarification of the location of Russian attack.

UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, May 21 — A Russian first person view (FPV) drone hit a truck on M03 Highway in northern Kharkiv oblast, killing a driver and causing a fire, reported the Kharkiv regional police.

Police still can’t  evacuate the body of the killed truck driver, Viktor Levechenko, the head of the regional police, said to Suspilne Kharkiv, local public media outlet.

M03 is an international highway in Ukraine connecting Kyiv with Dovzhansky on the border with Russia. The route passes through the northern section of the ring road near Kharkiv, passing through the Mala Danylivka community.

Place where Russian attack drone hit a truck in Kharkiv oblast
Place where Russian attack drone hit a truck in Mala Danylivka community / Photo: DeepState

In September 2025, Russian FPV drones started to reach Kharkiv. So, the local authorities decided to install antidrone nets in northern Kharkiv outskirts, including the northern part of the ring road. 

Russian forces also launched two more drone attacks on police vehicles at the site of the morning drone strike at the truck. No police officers were injured, Levchenko 

Oleksandr Hololobov, the head of the community, said that the Russian drone attack on the truck is the second such incident in the area this week. He recommended using other routes to pass this part of the highway.

The Kharkiv police reported that, because of the danger of Russian repeat attacks, they have temporarily closed traffic on that section of the highway in the Mala Danylivka community.

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