Institute for the Study of War: Kremlin denies Ukrainian munitions hit Crimea to avoid admitting ‘ineffectiveness of Russian air defense’

3:01 AM

Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury, claiming heavyweight world champion title.

Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk has claimed the title of undisputed heavyweight world champion, by defeating British boxer Tyson Fury.

2:49 AM

Danone finalizes sale of assets and exits Russia.

The French dairy products company Danone has finalized the sale of its Russian operations, accounting for about 5% of its global sales, after more than 30 years in the country.

1:19 AM

Russian attacks on Sumy Oblast injure 1 person.

Russian forces attacked ten border areas and settlements of Sumy Oblast on May 18, firing 46 times and causing at least 284 explosions, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported.

12:52 AM

Media: Truckers briefly block Kyiv-Odesa highway over mobilization law.

Olena Berezhna, the National Police's spokeswoman, told Suspilne that truckers gathered in Kyrovohrad and Odesa oblasts. Later in the day, Suspilne reported that traffic on the Kyiv-Odesa highway had been restored.

11:54 PM

UPDATE: Russian glide bomb attack injures 6, including 2 children, in Kharkiv.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Tereknov said earlier in the day that several houses were destroyed in the attack.

11:10 PM

Decorated Ukrainian pilot killed in action.

Lieutenant Colonel Vasyliuk, the brigade’s chief of staff and a deputy commander of an aviation squadron, was killed “recently” while conducting a combat mission, the brigade said.

10:15 PM

Ukraine’s 110th Brigade downs 4 Russian aircraft in 2 weeks.

Su-25s help Russia carry out intense attacks in multiple sections of the eastern front.

9:16 PM

Zelensky: Ukraine repels Russian assault on Chasiv Yar, Russia loses troops near Kharkiv.

Chasiv Yar, a largely destroyed town, has been seen as Russia’s next target after the fall of Bakhmut, while Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, is also a major Russian target.

8:11 PM

Man stabs military enlistment official in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

According to the report, the official sustained an arm injury.

7:45 PM

Interview

Taiwan's FM: 'If Russia can do that to Ukraine, China might do the same to Taiwan'

7:12 PM

Zelensky: 'Our partners fear that Russia will lose this war'.

President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Ukraine's partners "are afraid of Russia losing the war" and would like Kyiv "to win in such a way that Russia does not lose," Zelensky said in a meeting with journalists attended by the Kyiv Independent.

6:24 PM

Georgian president vetoes 'foreign agents' bill.

Georgia's pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili said on May 18 that she vetoed the controversial "foreign agents" bill previously passed by the parliament despite large-scale protests.

5:55 PM

Authorities: Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast kill 2, injure 1.

Russian attacks against the villages of Tiahynka and Stanislav in Kherson Oblast killed two people and wounded another one, regional authorities reported on May 18.

5:27 PM

Polish PM: Warsaw to spend $2.5 billion to secure Russia, Belarus border.

Poland plans to invest 10 billion zlotys ($2.55 billion) in strengthening its borders with Russia and Belarus to deter potential aggression, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on May 18, according to Bloomberg.

4:13 PM

Prosecutor’s Office: 2 killed, 2 injured in Russian attack on Kharkiv Oblast.

Two people were killed and two more were injured when a car with civilians trying to evacuate from Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast came under Russian fire, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported on May 18.

3:39 PM

Authorities: Russian attack on Kharkiv injures 5, including 2 children.

Russian forces struck a residential area in the city of Kharkiv on the afternoon of May 18, injuring at least five people, including two children, local officials reported.

3:16 PM

Ukraine charges Russia's FSB chief, top officials with guiding EuroMaidan violence.

Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation reported on May 18 that it had charged Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), and another 20 top officials of Russian special services with curating and aiding the illegal obstruction of protests during Ukraine's EuroMaidan Revolution.

12:08 PM

Zelensky: Ukraine only has 25% of needed air defense capabilities.

Ukraine only has 25% of the air defense capabilities it needs to adequately repel Russian attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with AFP on May 17.

11:22 AM

Zelensky: Russia’s Kharkiv Oblast offensive could be first of several waves.

Russia's offensive in Kharkiv Oblast this month could be the first of several waves, and Russian forces may try for the regional capital of Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with AFP on May 17.

10:53 AM

Ukrenergo: Russia launched attacks on 2 Ukrainian energy facilities overnight.

Russian forces attacked two energy facilities in Ukraine with drones overnight on May 18, Ukraine's state-owned energy operator Ukrenergo reported.

10:05 AM

Update: 4 killed, 31 injured in Russian glide bomb attack on Kharkiv.

The death toll of a Russian attack on the city of Kharkiv on May 17 has risen to four as an injured 33-year-old man died in the hospital, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on May 18.

9:02 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 491,080 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.

This number includes 1,210 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

7:33 AM

Air Force: Ukraine downs all 13 Russian drones overnight.

Ukrainian air defenses downed all 13 Shahed-type attack drones launched by Russia overnight on May 18, according to Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk.

6:52 AM

Mediazona confirms identities of over 52,700 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine.

Through open-source research, Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, confirmed the names of 52,789 Russian soldiers who had been killed since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

5:40 AM

Russia claims explosion at St. Petersburg academy caused by World War Two ammunition

Russia's military reported on May 17 that a blast at the Budyonny Military Academy of the Signal Corps in St. Petersburg, which injured seven servicemen, was caused by the accidental detonation of World War II-era ammunition.