Key developments on May 23: * Ukraine, Russia hold largest prisoner swap since start of Russia's war * Ukraine confirms strike on Russian factory making parts for Iskander ballistic missiles, glide bombs * Russian military helicopter crashes in Oryol Oblast * Zelensky slams Russia's delay on peace memorandum as 'mockery of the whole world'
The nature, size, and political significance of prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia have evolved significantly over the three and a half years of the full-scale war, accelerating sharply in recent weeks. While ceasefire and peace negotiations have gone through periods of halts and bursts, increasingly institutionalized prisoner exchanges are
"We need a ceasefire. We need diplomatic steps toward real peace. And it's definitely time to put more pressure on Russia," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
According to Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Russian aircraft posed a threat to regional airspace safety.
According to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office, the incident occurred on May 22 during an attack on Ukrainian positions in one of the most active combat zones of the front line.
The Moscow Military District attributed the crash to a technical malfunction.
Editor's note: The article incorrectly said that only soldiers were brought back to Ukraine as part of the exchange. Ukraine has brought back home 290 soldiers and 120 civilians. Their eyes fill with tears as they hear people shouting, ‘Thank you!’ and ‘Glory to Ukraine!’ The soldiers have just arrived
Four of the wounded are in serious condition, Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said.
According to the report, Kontron used the Slovenian entity to ship over 3.5 million euro ($3.9 million) worth of telecommunications equipment to its Russian subsidiary, Iskra Technologies, between July and November 2023.
The comments come after reports that Finland expects a Russian military build-up on its borders after the war in Ukraine ends.
The planned exchange, involving 1,000 detainees from each side, follows an agreement reached between Ukrainian and Russian delegations during talks in Istanbul on May 16, 2025.
The Kurganpribor, which produces a range of equipment for Russia’s defense industry, including components for rocket systems, missiles, and bombs, is under U.S. and EU sanctions in response to Moscow’s full-scale war against Ukraine. It is described as one of the leading enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed seven people and injured 20 others over the past day, regional authorities said on May 23.
"I hope there is no one left in this hall still waiting for a miracle — for some white swan to bring peace to Ukraine, restore the borders of 1991 or 2022, and after that there will be great happiness in Ukraine," said Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the U.K.
Ukrainian drones attacked the Energy (Energia) plant in Yelets, Russian Telegram-channel Astra reported, citing locals. Videos on social media purported to show blasts and fires following the strikes.
The number includes 1,050 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
The G7 issued a joint statement on May 22, pledging to keep Russian assets frozen until the end of the war and to support Ukraine's recovery. "We reaffirm that... Russia’s sovereign assets... will remain immobilized until Russia ends its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine," the statement read.
Russian authorities have been forced to shut down airports in Moscow amid a barrage of Ukrainian drone strikes overnight, Russian officials and state media reported on May 23. Operations have been suspended at Moscow's Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports.
The Russian government is slashing budgets for major projects across a number of sectors amid an economic downturn and oil price collapse, the pro-Kremlin news outlet Kommersant reported.
A spokesperson for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said Putin's words are further proof that Russia "is an obstacle to peace efforts."
Russia is now saying the quiet part out loud. It has no intention of stopping the war in Ukraine. We in Ukraine knew this all along, of course, but to sate the demands of international diplomacy, Moscow and Washington have engaged in a now more than two-month-long peace process that
* Mass Ukrainian drone strike targets Moscow, Russia claims, multiple airports closed * 9 Ukrainian children rescued from Russian-occupied territories, President's Office says * Trump tells European leaders Putin doesn’t want peace because he believes Russia winning war in Ukraine, WSJ reports * Kyiv proposes EU partners help directly fund Ukrainian military under
For at least two days in a row, Ukraine has launched massive waves of drones deep into Russian territory. Between the evening of May 20 and the morning of May 22, Russia claims to have shot down 485 drones on its territory.
Among the rescued children is a girl whose life was in danger due to the lack of adequate medical care in the occupied territories, and a boy who, along with his mother, was locked in a basement by Russian forces while his father was tortured in a nearby room, Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak said.
"The regulation gradually increasing customs duties for products from Russia and Belarus will help to prevent Russia from using the EU market to finance its war machine," said Inese Vaidere, Latvian Member of the European Parliament.
Days before, George Simion, leader of Romania's far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), appealed the results despite conceding defeat to pro-EU candidate Nicusor Dan on May 18.
In the early 19th century, one of the founding fathers of modern war studies, the Prussian general and military historian Carl von Clausewitz, commented on the Napoleonic Wars: "The conqueror is always peace-loving; he would much prefer to march into our state calmly." This remains an observation that applies to
North Korean Leader leader Kim Jong Un condemned the failed launch as a "criminal act" and placed blame on several state institutions, accusing relevant officials of "irresponsibility" which "could not be tolerated."
U.S. Donald Trump's reported statement marked the first time he acknowledged to European leaders the thing they and Kyiv have long maintained — the Kremlin has no intention of ending its full-scale war against Ukraine.
Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023.
Ukrainian forces downed 74 out of the 128 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones, and an Iskander-M ballistic missiles launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Thirty-eight drones disappeared from radars without causing any damage, according to the statement.
The first blast was followed by more explosions, as the officers were allegedly transporting ammunition that detonated.
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