Exclusives
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Wounded warriors can wait months for evacuation. Ukrainians are trying to solve this—here's how. From UGVs to experimental hexcopters |
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From job offers to "meat assaults": The deception of Russia's foreign fighters. A joint human rights report reveals that Russia's global recruitment system increasingly relies on deception, coercion, and economic desperation to funnel tens of thousands of foreign nationals into high-intensity combat in Ukraine. |
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After Trump's exit, Putin enters Beijing — with a gas price gap and Ukraine on the table. Putin visits Beijing days after Trump, seeking a $50 vs $258 gas price deal, Ukraine signals, and reassurance that China's US thaw won't sideline Moscow. |
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Even the FSB knows you won't believe it—so Russia now lies only to Russians. A Ukrainian military intelligence official maps how Russian disinformation flipped—from flooding Ukraine to feeding Russians. |
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Xi pledged to stop arming Iran—US intelligence warns the weapons still flow. Xi pledged to stop arming Iran, but US intelligence says covert Chinese weapons shipments continue via third countries—no deal, no monitors signed. |
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Is Ukraine about to repeat Hitler´s mistake with the London Blitz?. Is Ukraine about to adopt Russia´s playbook - bringing the war home by striking civilian infrastructure? The author argues that this would be an strategic mistake. But the West is not helping Ukraine. |
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Ukraine's homemade glide bomb may have an edge over the American and French ones. It took more than a year of development, but Ukraine's new precision glide bomb is finally ready for action. |
Military
Flash warns air defense crews not to wait for orders, as Russia is now hunting them with real-time-piloted Shaheds. He also warned crews not to fire carelessly and reveal their location.
Ukraine strikes Kstovo refinery, supplying 30% of Moscow Oblast's gasoline 800 km from border. It is at least the third strike since November on the same refinery.
Drone hits Yaroslavl refinery for third time in two weeks as Russia's fourth-largest oil plant burns again. Yaroslavl governor confirms Ukrainian drone struck industrial facility on 19 May; fire contained, no casualties, six Russian airports closed.
"There was fear": Colombian "Tornado" held frontline position in Ukraine for 110 days, repelling relentless Russian attacks. He's blunt about why he came — a good cause, and the money. He's just as blunt about the rest.
Border drill: Belarus district near Ukraine rehearses rocket strike making mass casualties. Belarus border district drills for rocket strikes, mass casualties and utility blackouts as Zelenskyy warns of Russian attacks launched from Belarusian soil.
Intelligence and technology
Ukraine shows sea drone carrying 27 AI-guided interceptors built to kill Russia's Shaheds in air. The Katran X1.2 is 9 meters long, powered by a 350-horsepower engine.
US wants Ukraine's AI-assisted targeting, GPS-free navigation, and IP to reproduce it, but Zelenskyy has red line. Ukraine plans 3 million attack drones this year; the US built 300,000 last year, and now wants the technology to reproduce them.
Beijing is far more directly involved in war than previously understood: China secretly trained 200 Russian troops in 2025. Chinese troops have trained in Russia since 2024. Russians training in China is the new part.
Ukraine trains demining specialists to use unique drone-mounted magnetometers. The sapper no longer walks the field — the drone does, reading the soil's magnetic shifts.
Frontline tool Ukraine can't fight without: 5,000 pickups now procured through largest-ever open tender. The Defense Procurement Agency will run the process in stages through framework agreements, with first deliveries expected by end of year.
Ukraine announces its first "Equalizer" for asymmetric warfare: 250 kg warhead, no donor restrictions, third of US JDAM-ER cost. Until now Ukraine had no domestic precision glide bomb, relying on scarce Western donations, such as JDAM-ER kits, ATACMS, Storm Shadow, and SCALP-EG.
Ukrainian soldier says supplier swapped ordered drone batteries for cheaper cells that risk thermal runaway at front. He had to slice open the casing himself to find out, and what was inside was not what the contract specified.
International
First Ukrainian drone shot down over Estonia: Kyiv apologizes, accusing Russian jamming. MFA: "Moscow is doing this deliberately."
Estonia downs first drone over its own territory – and suspects it was Ukrainian. Estonia shot down a drone over Lake Võrtsjärv for the first time. Defense Minister Pevkur suspects Ukrainian origin. Latest in a series of Baltic drone incidents.
Xi told Trump Putin could come to regret the Ukraine war, FT reports. First time Xi has offered such an assessment to a US president, per FT sources.
US extends Russian-oil waiver for second time — one Bessent had told allies he wouldn't make.
Humanitarian and social impact
Russian drone tears off 68-year-old man's leg in Kherson's daily "human safari". Two more people were killed and 14 wounded across Kherson Oblast in the same 24 hours.
"One person may still be under the rubble": Kharkiv struck by back-to-back drone raids, 25+ homes damaged. Russian drones struck Kharkiv twice overnight on 19 May, damaging 25+ homes and injuring three people, as part of a 209-UAV assault across Ukraine.
Russia is holding at least 100 people in occupied Crimea with no contact with outside world and no lawyer — and no trials. For the same charges that brought 7–10 years before 2022, courts now hand down 10–20, a Ukrainian rights monitor says.
Political and legal developments
Russia's four-month budget deficit hit $75.4 billion — 50% above what Moscow planned for entire year. Ukrainian PM says even high oil prices aren't saving Russia. The IMF, citing those same prices, just raised its Russia forecast.
New developments
Ukrainian teenager tops 248 girls from 67 countries to win first-ever gold at European informatics Olympiad. Ukraine also brought home 2 silvers + bronze.
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