Russian artillery is seen destroyed by Ukrainian troops near Mykolaiv in mid-March. (Oleksandr Gimanov)
Russia has lost 497,700 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on May 23.
This number includes 1,330 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 7,622 tanks, 14,748 armored fighting vehicles, 17,513 vehicles and fuel tanks, 12,860 artillery systems, 1,077 multiple launch rocket systems, 813 air defense systems, 355 airplanes, 326 helicopters, 10,391 drones, 27 ships and boats, and one submarine.
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"I won't go into too many details, but today I can congratulate our army first and foremost —all the defense forces — because as of today, 300 (square) kilometers have been liberated," Zelensky told Agence France-Presse.
The children were returned under the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, which finds and returns Ukrainian children from occupied territories and Russia, alongside the Save Ukraine organization.
The Votkinsk Plant is a strategic, state-owned defense enterprise and one of the most important missile factories in Russia. It produces Iskander ballistic missiles — used in attacks against Ukraine — and nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The main target was Odesa Oblast, where two people were injured after drones tore into houses and a four-storey apartment block, the emergency services reported on Feb. 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Feb. 20, framed by authorities as a measure to counter security threats and potential attacks, granting Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) broad authority to order the disconnection of individuals from mobile and home internet services.
"We are blocking the €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine until oil transit to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline resumes," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Feb. 20.
The Moldovan Police and Ukrainian law enforcement agencies announced a day earlier that they had launched a criminal investigation into an alleged plot to assassinate several public figures in Ukraine. The probe is being carried out by a joint investigative team formed by the two countries.
The Kyiv Independent’s separate analytical unit, KI Insights, is excited to announce the launch of its podcast, Ukraine Insights — a show dedicated to unpacking Ukraine’s politics, security, economy, and international relations through in-depth, expert-driven conversations.
In December 2023, Hlib Benia, a Ukrainian soldier with the 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade, was delivering supplies to his comrades when Russian FPV (first-person view) drones struck. Two of his fellow soldiers were killed. He survived but lost an arm and a leg.
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