Vuhledar, Russia losses and Israel-Lebanon conflict | Ukraine This Week

9:51 PM

'Ceasefire now' — Trump's Ukraine envoy reacts to Russia's large-scale attack on Ukraine.

"The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents. These attacks are shameful," U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on X without explicitly naming Russia. "Stop the killing. Ceasefire now."

6:19 PM  (Updated:  May 25, 2025 9:11 pm)

Largest-ever Ukrainian-Russian prisoner swap comes under fire for lacking Azov fighters, civilians.

As Kyiv completed its largest prisoner exchange of the war on May 25, exchanging 1,000 Ukrainian POWs for 1,000 Russians, some spoke out on social media to criticize authorities for failing to return certain captives.

8:47 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine concludes largest prisoner swap with Russia; Russian missile, drone attack kills 12, injures over 60

7:55 PM

Russian commander claims Putin's helicopter was 'at the epicenter' of Ukrainian drone attack.

"We were simultaneously engaged in an air defense battle and ensuring airspace security for the president’s helicopter flight," Yury Dashkin, commander of an air defense division, said, as cited by the Russian news agency on May 25.

7:49 PM

China supplying Russian military factories with chemicals, gunpowder, components, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence chief says.

Beijing is supplying "special chemicals, gunpowder, and components" to 20 Russian military-industrial manufacturing facilities, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service Oleh Ivashchenko said in an interview partially released on May 25.

2:19 PM  (Updated:  May 25, 2025 7:30 pm)

KI Insights

Ukraine calendar: What will happen this week

7:04 PM

Ukraine destroys Russian fuel train in occupied territory, military intelligence says.

HUR released video of the strike on its official Telegram channel on May 25, showing a train engulfed in flames.

6:50 PM

Kyiv launches drone attack on Moscow, official claims, following Russia's large-scale attack on Ukraine overnight.

Several Ukrainian drones were downed by Russian air defenses on their approach to Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin claimed on May 25. Sobyanin's report comes following Russia's large-scale missile and drone attack on multiple cities of Ukraine, which killed 12 people and injured 60.

6:09 PM

Russians 'mock' US and peace process with latest attacks on Ukraine, EU ambassador says.

"How will the world react to Putin’s terror and clear provocation? To his mockery of any ceasefire discussion? I must admit, I ask that myself," Mathernova wrote. "Putin is clearly after his stated goal, killing Ukrainians and forcing Ukraine into submission. Sadly, the only language he understands is the language of force."

5:16 PM

Russia 'categorically' rejected unconditional ceasefire in peace talks, Ukrainian official says.

"I do not think that (the Russian negotiating team's) directives had a position that allowed for the possibility of reaching an agreement with the Ukrainian side on a ceasefire," Kyslytsia said.

5:03 PM

Video

Russia advancing and ex-official assassination | Ukraine This Week.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur shares key takeaways from Monday’s phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Wednesday’s assassination of a controversial Ukrainian ex-official. Also, Russia is advancing in Sumy Oblast.

3:52 PM

Two women killed in Russian strike on residential building in Kupiansk.

"At this moment, two people are known to have died - women aged 85 and 56," Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.

5:07 PM  (Updated:  May 25, 2025 2:41 pm)

Russia upgrades Iskander ballistic missiles, more difficult for Ukraine's Patriots to intercept, Air Force says.

"It complicates (the interception), but doesn’t make the interception impossible," Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said. "I think our partners are already working to improve the system's capabilities."

2:19 PM

US silence 'encourages Putin', Zelensky says after massive Russian attack.

"Without really strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will definitely help," Zelensky wrote in a post on Telegram on May 25.

1:05 PM

Ukraine brings home 303 POWs in final phase of biggest prisoner swap with Russia.

The prisoner exchange took place in three phases carried out over three days, and was agreed on during peace talks held in Turkey on May 16, the first direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in three years.

12:12 PM

Russia claims it downed 110 Ukrainian drones overnight.

The drones were intercepted over several regions of Russia, including Moscow and Kursk oblasts, according to the ministry.

10:39 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 980,850 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022.

Russia has lost around 980,850 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on May 25.

1:05 AM  (Updated:  May 25, 2025 7:26 am)

Russian missile, drone attack kills 12, injures over 60.

Multiple waves of explosions rocked cities across Ukraine as Russia launched another massive drone and missile attack overnight. At least 11 people in Kyiv have been injured.

6:00 AM

Russian attack in Kyiv Oblast kills 3, injures 10, including children.

The bodies of two victims were found when first responders extinguished a fire in the Obukhiv district. Another person was killed in the Bucha district, Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said.

1:39 AM  (Updated:  May 25, 2025 5:31 am)

Ukrainian drones shot down near Moscow as Russia attacks Kyiv, official claims.

Six drones were shot down as they flew towards Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on May 25. His report came as Russia attacked Kyiv for the second consecutive night.

5:22 AM

Russia losing battlefield edge in war against Ukraine, WP reports.

Moscow faces critical shortages of weapons and manpower, making the time ripe for escalated pressure, Western officials told The Washington Post (WP).

3:52 AM

Russian air base in Tver Oblast attacked by drones, media reports.

The Migalovo military airfield is located on the outskirts of Tver, over 1,300 kilometers (807 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

11:31 PM

US rolls back Assad-era sanctions on Syria.

The United States granted immediate sanctions relief to Syria after President Donald Trump called for a complete end to sanctions on the country. The sanctions relief was announced by the U.S. Treasury Department and State Department on May 23.

9:34 PM

Russia will reveal peace terms to Ukraine after prisoner exchange, Lavrov says.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on May 23 that Moscow will convey its peace terms to Kyiv immediately after the completion of the ongoing prisoner exchange between the two countries.

8:31 PM

Culture

Vernacular Hardcore: Ukraine’s artists reimagine home and heritage at Venice Biennale