The publications' latest report covers the period of February 24, 2022 to May 8, 2025. Since it was last updated at the end of April, 2,857 additional Russian military personnel have been confirmed killed.
Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
Three were injured in Russia's Kursk Oblast when the town of Rylsk was allegedly struck by a missile attack on May 11, local governor Alexander Khinshtein claimed.
This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
Illustrative purposes only: Police officer Oleksii Kharkivskyi looks at smoke rising from a Russian glide bomb impact site in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, on May 11, 2024. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent)
At least two civilians were killed and another one injured in the front-line city of Vovchansk on May 17, as Russian troops continued their attempts to break through in Kharkiv Oblast, according to the regional Prosecutor's Office.
Russia launched new offensive actions on May 10 in the north of Kharkiv Oblast toward Lyptsi and Vovchansk, a town located less than five kilometers (three miles) from the Russian border and around 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the city of Kharkiv.
A 35-year-old man was killed, while a 60-year-old one was injured in recent Russian strikes, the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported.
The regional Prosecutor's Office also started a criminal proceeding on the Russian military allegedly shooting a person with disabilities in Vovchansk.
Law enforcement service referred to the video published by Ukrainian journalist Andriy Tsaplienko on his Telegram channel earlier in the day.
Tsaplienko said that during air reconnaissance monitoring, Ukrainian forces spotted the body of a person in a wheelchair not far away from the local hospital, which was reportedly captured by Russian troops.
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War Notes
Law enforcement officers consider that the victim tried to escape from the hospital, but the Russian soldiers shot him and left him sitting in a wheelchair in the middle of a damaged street.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry confirmed on May 15 that Russian units had entered the northern parts of the town, but the Ukrainian military reportedly prevented them from establishing a foothold deeper in Vovchansk.
Russian troops yet managed to capture up to 40 civilians and started to use them as human shields, the police said.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko previously said that Russian soldiers took Ukrainian civilians captive and prevented their evacuation in the embattled northern part of the city.
Francis Farrell
