
Russia executes 2 Ukrainian POWs near Pokrovsk, prosecutors say
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.
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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that 390 Ukrainian prisoners had been exchanged as part of the first stage of the swap.
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 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.
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.
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.
Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said Kyiv is proposing a new model: EU partners would help fund the Ukrainian military, and in return, Ukraine would be further integrated into the continent's defense system.
Hundreds of Ukrainian kamikaze drones have flown towards Moscow in recent weeks. None appear to have even reached the Russian capital, yet the effect on the city — and the wider country — has been hugely significant. Ukrainian drones have forced at least 217 temporary airport closures across Russia since Jan. 1,
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 open letter, signed by leading representatives of Ukraine's defense-industrial sector, highlights the strategic potential of the country's homegrown military technologies, from drones to electronic warfare systems, and calls for decisive political action to authorize the controlled export of surplus weaponry to allied nations.
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
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.
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.
All four Moscow airports — Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky — as well as airports in Tambov and Vladimir were temporarily closed.
The number includes 870 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Reuters reported on May 21 that Ukraine will propose to the EU that the bloc speed up the seizure of frozen Russian assets to provide to Kyiv. The additional proposed sanctions would also target foreign companies that assist Russia through the use of technology, and "the introduction of secondary sanctions on purchasers of Russian oil".
The United Kingdom has exposed a cyber campaign orchestrated by Russian military intelligence (GRU) targeting Western logistics and technology organizations involved in delivering foreign assistance to Ukraine, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NSCS) announced on May 21.
Russia rejects a ceasefire in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Editor's Note: In 2023, Andriy Portnov filed a lawsuit against Olga Rudenko, the chief editor of the Kyiv Independent, over an article in which he was referenced as being "pro-Russian." A Kyiv court ruled in Portnov's favor in September 2024. In April 2025, an appeal court upheld the ruling. Rudenko
"War crimes have been committed, no doubt, and who is responsible for that, there will be a time and place for that accountability, but right now the job is to end the war," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
"We have to release all our people, unconditionally. We are trying to do the maximum we can. We are trying very hard," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.