News And Information From Ukraine

Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 1,186.

Russia’s Attacks on Ukraine

Kyiv. Russia launched 14 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones at Ukraine’s capital overnight on March 24. It’s one of the biggest combined aerial attacks on the Ukrainian capital of the three-year war, damaging several apartment buildings and injuring 15 people.

Sumy region. On May 20, Russian forces carried out 120 strikes on 35 settlements across Ukraine’s northern province, killing two civilians and wounding seven others.

The same day, a Russian missile strike on a military training ground located less than 30 miles from the Russian border killed six soldiers and wounded more than ten others during live-fire exercises. The incident sparked public backlash over the continued practice of concentrating troops near front-line areas despite known risks from Russian drone surveillance.

Donetsk region. Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine on May 22 killed two civilians and wounded two others while inflicting damage on residential areas.

Kharkiv region. Russian strikes on and near Ukraine’s second-largest city on May 22 killed one man and wounded at least eight people.

Chernihiv region. On May 21, a Russian drone strike on a farm in a northern border village killed a local worker.

Kherson region. A Russian artillery strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Beryslav killed a man and a woman on May 22; earlier that morning, Russian artillery killed a woman in the regional capital.

In the first stage of a POW exchange, 390 captured Ukrainian soldiers returned home on May 23. When the exchange is completed, Russia and Ukraine each will repatriate 1,000 prisoners of war held by the other side. Although the exchange is the largest since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, 2022, Kyiv estimates that Russia holds as many as 8,000 Ukrainian POWs.

Trump-Putin Call Sparks Anxiety in Ukraine and EU

In a tense call with European leaders on May 20, U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly told allies that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not ready to end the war in Ukraine because he believes that he is winning. According to four senior European officials, Trump claimed that Putin ultimately wants peace only on Russia’s terms and described the war as Europe’s problem.
The call, which followed Trump’s two-hour conversation with Putin the day before, frustrated European leaders, who had hoped that the U.S. would apply more pressure on the Kremlin. Trump instead floated the idea of launching lower-level talks between Ukraine and Russia at the Vatican, which are scheduled for mid-June, and backed away from the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later cast doubt on the likelihood that the Vatican could serve as a venue for such discussions. The White House, too, later disputed elements of the European account. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump did not say that Putin opposes ending the war.

As President Trump backs away from tougher sanctions on Russia, Ukraine is urging the European Union to assume a greater leadership role with a sweeping new sanctions proposal, including asset seizures and secondary sanctions on Russian oil buyers such as India and China. In a 40-page white paper, which it will present next week, Kyiv warns that Washington has effectively withdrawn from multilateral sanctions coordination, shuttering task forces and stalling oil price cap enforcement.
Beyond that, Ukrainian officials argue that the EU must now act decisively to maintain pressure on Moscow. Although the EU and UK continue imposing new measures and rounds of sanctions, Ukraine fears that even a firm European stance will be insufficient to make up for a U.S. pullback that fractures Western unity.

Assassination of Ukraine’s Ex-Judicial Powerbroker

Andriy Portnov, once an adviser to former pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, and a powerful behind-the-scenes figure in Ukraine’s judiciary, was shot dead in broad daylight near Madrid on May 21. Spanish authorities are investigating whether the killing was linked to organized crime or a politically motivated act tied to accusations of treason. Russian sources, however, have suggested a third theory: that Portnov might have held compromising material on current Ukrainian officials.

Often referred to as the “architect” of Ukraine’s judicial system, Portnov was accused by anti-corruption watchdogs of maintaining shadow influence over courts even under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He frequently appeared in investigative reports and legal battles, often winning lawsuits against media that described him as pro-Russian.

While some insiders have downplayed his role in recent years, others cite his connections to top officials and his legacy of controlling key judicial levers dating back to the Yanukovych era.

Ukraine Seeks EU Defense Funding by 2026

Ukraine has proposed a new funding model under which the European Union would begin directly financing its military starting in 2026. Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said on May 22 that the plan would strengthen Europe’s collective defense and reduce the long-term cost of containing Russian aggression. The EU has so far avoided direct military funding of Ukraine’s armed forces, which might raise concerns across European capitals. Marchenko, nonetheless, suggested that shared contributions would give strategic stability for Ukraine and, given Kyiv’s battlefield experience, tangible security benefits for the EU.

With more than $133 billion in international aid received since 2022, Ukraine’s financial system relies heavily on external financial support amid Moscow’s hardening position on the front lines; President Putin’s recent de facto rejection of Ukraine’s ceasefire proposal has only deepened Kyiv’s push for integrated European defense cooperation, which might become the last pillar of stability for Ukraine should the U.S. halt its support.

By Danylo Nosov, Alan Sacks