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'
- Russia executes 2 Ukrainian POWs near Pokrovsk, prosecutors say
Ukraine and Russia on May 23 began the largest exchange of prisoners of war (POWs) since the start of Russia's war in 2014, a Kyiv Independent journalist reported from the site of the swap.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that 390 Ukrainian prisoners had been exchanged as part of the first stage of the swap.
"We are bringing our people home. The first stage of the '1000-for-1000' exchange agreement has been carried out," Zelensky wrote. "Today – 390 people. On Saturday and Sunday, we expect the exchange to continue."
Russia's Defense Ministry said that 270 soldiers and 120 civilians had returned to Russia as part of the first stage.
The exchange will see 1,000 POWs from both sides return home, in a deal agreed upon during direct talks in Istanbul on May 16, the first such talks between Moscow and Kyiv since 2022.
"I thank everyone who is helping and working 24/7 to bring Ukrainian men and women back home. It is very important to return everyone who remains in captivity," Zelensky added.
The Ukrainian and Russian governments confirmed they had received the lists of POWs to be exchanged on May 22.
Zelensky announced on the same day that he held a meeting to prepare the exchange and called the agreement on the POW swap the only "real" result of the meeting between the two delegations in Istanbul.
"The agreement on the release of 1000 of our people from Russian captivity was almost the only real result of the meeting in Turkey. We are working to ensure this result. We are finding out the details of each person listed on the Russian side," Zelensky said.
According to the President's Office chief Andriy Yermak, diplomatic representatives of the Nordic and Baltic countries also participated in preparations for the swap. He added that after the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange is completed, future direct talks with Russian officials could be arranged.
At least 8,000 Ukrainian service members are held captive by Russia, Iryna Vereshchuk, Presidential Office deputy head, said on May 1, citing data from Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of POWs.
Kyiv does not release the figures for how many Russian POWs are currently in Ukrainian custody.
While ceasefire agreements and peace talks have remained elusive since the start of the full-scale invasion, regular prisoner swaps have remained one of the few areas of ongoing cooperation between the two countries.
Daria Shulzhenko
Ukraine confirms strike on Russian factory making parts for ballistic missiles
Ukraine has confirmed a strike on an industrial zone in the city of Yelets in Russia's Lipetsk Oblast overnight on May 23, that hit a factory making parts for Russian weapons, including Iskander ballistic missiles.
"The target was hit... and a series of explosions were recorded," Ukraine's General Staff said in a post on social media, adding: "A fire broke out on the territory of the facility."
It said the factory, which is under U.S. and EU sanctions, is Russia's "only manufacturer of batteries for glide and correction modules installed on aircraft bombs," and also produces parts for ballistic and cruise missiles.
"The shutdown of the Energia public company may leave some of the Russian occupiers' military equipment and weapons without critical batteries," the General Staff said.
The extent of the damage to the factory was still being assessed, it added.
The General Staff did not specify what type of weapon was used in the attack, but earlier on May 23, Lipetsk Oblast Governor Igor Artamonov said Ukrainian drones were behind the attack.
Videos on social media purported to show blasts and fires following the strikes.
Artamonov said that drone debris fell on a residential building in Yelets, injuring eight people.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the reports.
Ukraine regularly launches drone attacks against Russian military and industrial facilities in the rear to undermine Russia's ability to wage its all-out war.
In recent weeks, Kyiv has stepped up its drone attacks on Russia, sending hundreds of drones flying toward Moscow. While no direct hits have been reported, the attacks have caused temporary closures of multiple airports.
According to Russia's Defense Ministry, Russian air defenses have downed 112 Ukrainian drones overnight on May 23, including 24 over Moscow and one over Lipetsk Oblast.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
Zelensky slams Russia's delay on peace memorandum as 'mockery of the whole world'
Russia's weeklong delay in preparing a proposal on a peace settlement is a "mockery of the whole world," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on May 23.
The remarks come after Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 19, refused to support a full ceasefire in Ukraine. Instead, the Kremlin proposed drafting a "memorandum" on a possible future peace settlement.
Zelensky said that, while Ukraine and its partners are working toward an immediate ceasefire, Russia is stalling.
"When it took the Russians a week to formulate the so-called 'memorandum' in response to the demand for a ceasefire, it is definitely a mockery of the whole world," Zelensky said.
"We need a ceasefire. We need diplomatic steps toward real peace. And it's definitely time to put more pressure on Russia."
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on May 20 that there was "no timeline" for completing the document, according to Russian state media TASS.
Three days later, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would only submit the draft "settlement document" after the ongoing prisoner exchange is completed.
That exchange, agreed during direct Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul on May 16, saw both sides begin returning 1,000 prisoners of war (POWs) on May 23. It marks the largest such swap since Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014 and is the only concrete outcome of the Istanbul talks so far.
Zelensky said Moscow continues to block any meaningful progress beyond the prisoner swap.
"Every day in the war is a loss of life. Of course, in Russia, they don't count people. But the world must count," he said. "New sanctions against Russia are needed. I thank each and every one of you who advocate and support this."
Kyiv Independent
Russian military helicopter crashes in Oryol Oblast
A Russian Mi-8 combat helicopter crashed near the village of Naryshkino in Russia's Oryol Oblast on May 23, killing the crew, the state-controlled news agency TASS reported, citing the Russian army's Moscow Military District.
The Russian Telegram channel Baza published a video that purportedly shows smoke rising after the helicopter crash, followed by additional explosions.
The Moscow Military District attributed the crash to a technical malfunction.
The Mi-8 is a Soviet-era aircraft most commonly used for transport by both the Russian military and civilian government agencies. It can also serve in combat and command roles.
There have been several cases of Russian helicopters and planes crashing during the full-scale war, sometimes resulting in fatalities.
Russia's aviation industry took a heavy hit as a result of Western sanctions, often lacking the necessary components to maintain the aircraft.
Kateryna Denisova
Russia executes 2 Ukrainian POWs near Pokrovsk, prosecutors say
Russian forces have executed two Ukrainian prisoners of war during an assault near the village of Udachne, 12 kilometers (7 miles) west of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office reported on May 23.
According to the prosecutors, the incident occurred on May 22 during an attack on Ukrainian positions in one of the most active combat zones of the front line.
Russian troops reportedly took two of four Ukrainian soldiers prisoner during the assault and later shot them dead with automatic weapons in a nearby forest. The fate of the other two soldiers remains unknown.
"The deliberate killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and is qualified as a serious international crime," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.
Ukraine's military and law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation to identify those responsible.
The execution of prisoners of war (POWs) follows a documented pattern of war crimes committed by Russian forces. As of mid-December 2024, Ukrainian authorities recorded the execution of 177 Ukrainian soldiers after capture.
Visual evidence and forensic records have backed repeated claims by Kyiv that Moscow systematically violates international humanitarian law by targeting unarmed soldiers and civilians.
The Geneva Conventions classify summary executions of detainees as grave breaches of international humanitarian law.
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