Source: Oksana Stomina on Facebook

Details: Dmytro Paskalov, a fighter in the 12th Azov Special Purpose Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, was exchanged on 15 May.

Quote: "Yes! I was right to buy my husband slippers a couple of days ago! Hurray! He has just called! Thank you all for being with me and supporting me all this time!"

More details: Dmytro Paskalov was in captivity since May 2022, after leaving the Azovstal steelworks.

Background: Artem Vyshniak, a fighter of the Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, was brought back home during the prisoner exchange on 15 May. Ukrainians know his mother, Mama Tania, through her active participation in rallies supporting captured defenders.

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Source: Yaroslav Shanko, Head of Kherson City Military Administration, on Telegram

Details: The Russian attack caught the volunteers while they were carrying out a routine delivery of meals to a humanitarian aid distribution point.

Early reports indicate that one of the injured is in a serious condition – the man suffered a traumatic amputation of a leg. The other man reportedly sustained blast injuries (acubarotrauma).

Shanko also reported that on 14 May, in the same Dniprovskyi district, the Russians carried out a drone strike on a vehicle belonging to World Central Kitchen, a food relief organisation. Fortunately, the driver was not injured.

Background: On the night of 14-15 May, a 66-year-old man was seriously injured after the Russians carried out a drone strike on the Dniprovskyi district of Kherson.

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Source: activist Anastasiia Yeremieieva

Details: Vyshniak was taken prisoner after leaving the Azovstal plant in Mariupol in 2022. He had joined the Azov Regiment at the age of 19.

"I last saw him on 6 December 2021, heard his voice on 9 May 2022, and received the last message from him on 17 May 2022. He wrote that he was fine but would be out of contact for a long time. He also wrote that he loved us and was proud of his parents," Tetiana told Hromadske Radio.

For four years, Tetiana regularly took part in rallies supporting prisoners of war. Every week she held a placard with a new message. It was there that people began calling her Mama Tania, after which she started using the name on social media.

She also posed in freezing weather wearing only a T-shirt and holding a sign reading "Waiting for my son" to draw attention to the lack of warm clothing for POWs.

Tetiana's husband and brother both joined the defence of Ukraine after the start of the full-scale invasion. At her house in Kyiv Oblast, she set up a small shelter where she cares for animals.

Background: Earlier, Ukrainian marine Ruslan Kurtmallaiev also returned home after reportedly being handed over to the Russians by his commander along with his brothers-in-arms.

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Source: Mudra on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Mudra said this was the first time "since Nuremberg and Tokyo" that a separate mechanism of accountability for launching a war had been created.

"For years we were told this would never happen. Legally too complicated. Politically too sensitive. Too many interests against it," she said.

According to Mudra, the next stage will involve establishing the tribunal itself in The Hague, including appointing judges, approving procedures and launching investigations. She said the tribunal is expected to begin operating next year.

Mudra also recalled the lengthy negotiations and numerous attempts to find a legal mechanism for creating the tribunal. The official said the Ukrainian team of lawyers, diplomats and MPs repeatedly encountered resistance but continued searching for solutions.

She added that the tribunal should become an instrument of personal accountability for those who decided to launch the war against Ukraine.

Read also: Trial for Lavrov and Putin: all about the tribunal for Russia that received Europe's blessing

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Source: Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration

Quote: "One person has been killed and three more injured – efforts to deal with the consequences of the enemy attack in Zaporizhzhia are continuing."

Details: Fedorov reported that the Russians damaged a fuel and lubricants tank, causing a fire to break out and black smoke to rise over the city.

Three men aged 54, 60, and 63 were injured in the attack. All sustained blast injuries.

Two of the men injured in the attack are in a serious condition and the third is in a moderate condition. All have been taken to hospital and medics are providing them with the necessary assistance.

Background: The Russians struck a train in Zaporizhzhia Oblast with a drone. Two passengers who had not yet managed to evacuate sustained shrapnel wounds.

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Source: Reuters, citing two industry sources

Details: According to the sources, the plant suspended operations, including its combined stable condensate processing unit with a capacity of 3 million metric tonnes per year, which produces petrol and diesel fuel at the facility.

Astrakhan Oblast Governor Igor Babushkin said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday 13 May that drone debris had caused the fire at the gas processing plant.

The sources said it could take from several weeks to several months to restore automotive fuel production.

One source said the Astrakhan plant had not been operating since September 2025 and had resumed condensate processing and fuel production only a few weeks before the latest attack in April.

The second source said the drone attack also damaged equipment used for hydrogen sulphide processing and sulphur recovery.

Background: On the night of 14-15 May, drones attacked the Ryazan Refinery, one of Russia's largest oil refineries.

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Source: Kyiv Lyceum No. 323, a specialised secondary school

Quote: "With unspeakable pain, we inform you that last night a Russian missile took the life of Liubava Yakovlieva, a student of class 6-A at our lyceum.

We express our sincere condolences to her mother, relatives and loved ones. The most terrible face of war is the children's lives it takes away."

Details: At the time the statement was published, the school said the girl's older sister remained trapped under the rubble. Her death had not been officially confirmed at that point, although search operations at the attack site have since been completed, and among those who were killed were girls aged 12, 15 and 17.

The school also said that three years earlier, the girls' father – serviceman Yevhen "Ryzhyi" Yakovliev – had been killed in action.

Background:

• Specialists from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine have now completed clearing the rubble at the site of the attack. The Russian strike killed 24 people and injured another 48.
• Friday has been declared a day of mourning in Kyiv for those killed in the large-scale Russian attack on 14 May.

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Source: Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (USF)

Quote: "Operators of the 1st Separate Centre struck the Be-200 Altair amphibious aircraft and Ka-27 helicopter in the city of Yeysk in Russia. Unit fighters also struck a Pantsir-S1 system in temporarily occupied Crimea and a dry cargo vessel carrying ammunition in Berdiansk."

Details: The Be-200 Altair is a Russian amphibious aircraft used for maritime reconnaissance, search and rescue operations, and personnel transport in the coastal zone. The Ka-27, meanwhile, is a multi-purpose naval helicopter for patrol operations and the detection and destruction of surface and submarine targets.

The Unmanned Systems Forces stated that in coordination with the Deep Strike Centre, they attacked Russian aircraft, air defence systems, logistics and military basing areas. In particular, fighters of the 427th Rarog Unmanned Systems Brigade struck a Tor-M2 in Luhansk Oblast, while the 414th Magyar's Birds Brigade and the 20th K-2 Unmanned Systems Brigade attacked a training centre and Russian personnel deployment point.

At the same time, Unmanned Systems Forces Commander Robert "Magyar" Brovdi specified that in total during the night, Magyar's Birds carried out 55 fire strikes on 23 military targets and facilities in the areas of Russia's Taganrog and Yeysk, the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts and Crimea, including in Berdiansk and Melitopol.

The commander noted that the Russian air defence assets struck during the night became the 16th and 17th elements of Russian air defence that the USF had destroyed between 1 and 15 May.

Brovdi reported that in total from December to May the USF destroyed 153 Russian air defence units: 108 surface-to-air missile systems, 39 radar systems and 6 electronic warfare systems.

Brovdi also separately reported a large-scale strike on the Ryazan oil refinery, carried out by the USF jointly with Special Operations Forces deep strike units, intelligence and other forces.

Background: It was previously reported that on the night of 6-7 May, Ukraine's defence forces struck the Karakurt small missile ship, which can carry Kalibr cruise missiles. Ukrainian middle-strike drones are systematically hunting Russian air defence systems deep in Russian rear territory and are capable of striking targets at distances of up to 200 kilometres.

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Source: European Pravda, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

Quote from the Foreign Ministry: "During the meeting, 37 countries approved the Expanded Partial Agreement on the establishment of the Steering Committee for the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine – the third founding document of the special tribunal."

Details: The ceremony took place in Chișinău, Moldova, during a ministerial-level meeting.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that "the point of no return had been passed today – the special tribunal has become a legal reality", while stressing that this was only the beginning on the road to justice.

He also promised that the circle of states participating in the tribunal would expand.

"Putin has always wanted to go down in history. And this еribunal will help him achieve that. He will go down in history as a criminal. And not only him. Putin, Shoigu, Gerasimov, Bortnikov, Zolotov, Medvedev, Patrushev, Lukashenko and others. Today they all received their ticket to The Hague," the minister said. [Sergei Shoigu is Secretary of Russia's Security Council and former defence minister; Valery Gerasimov is Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces; Alexander Bortnikov is Director of the FSB; Viktor Zolotov is head of the Russian National Guard; Dmitry Medvedev is Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council and former president; Nikolai Patrushev is the aide to Putin and former Security Council secretary; and Alexander Lukashenko is the self-proclaimed Belarusian president – ed.]

The Foreign Ministry stressed that the Expanded Partial Agreement on the establishment of the Steering Committee would define the administrative and governance foundations of the tribunal's functioning and create additional mechanisms for expanding interregional support for the special tribunal.

Both Council of Europe member states and third countries will be able to join the agreement.

Read also: Trial for Lavrov and Putin: all about the tribunal for Russia that received Europe's blessing

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Source: Zelenskyy on X (Twitter)

Details: The president arrived at the site of the destroyed building and laid flowers in memory of those killed.

Quote: "My sincere condolences to everyone who lost their families and loved ones because of this savage terror.

The world must remember the price Ukraine pays every day so that Russian aggression does not spread to other nations.

May the memory of everyone whose life was taken by Russia be blessed."

Background:

• As a result of a Russian combined strike on the night of 13-14 May, part of a multi-storey building collapsed in Kyiv. The attack claimed the lives of 24 people, including three children.
• The strike also damaged over a dozen apartment buildings, a car service centre, a business centre, a supermarket and other facilities, as well as nearly three dozen vehicles.
• Friday 15 May has been declared a day of mourning in Kyiv for those killed in the Russian attack on 14 May.
• On 15 May, rescue workers completed the search and rescue operation at the site of the section of building in Kyiv's Darnytskyi district that had been destroyed by a Russian missile.

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Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X (Twitter); Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

Quote: "205 Ukrainians are home. Today, warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service are returning from Russian captivity. This is the first stage of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange.

Among those released are privates, sergeants, and officers. Most of them had been in Russian captivity since 2022. They defended Ukraine in Mariupol and at Azovstal, on the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kyiv fronts, and at the Chornobyl NPP [Nuclear Power Plant – ed.]."

Details: The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War stated that almost all of the servicemembers released on Friday had spent four years in captivity. Most of them were captured during the defence of Mariupol. The length of time spent in captivity was the key principle behind compiling the lists for the 1,000-for-1,000 exchanges, the statement said.

In addition to soldiers and sergeants, more than 50 officers were also brought home.

Among those released was a National Guard serviceman captured at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

The youngest defender released is 21 years old, while the oldest is 62.

The freed defenders will be taken to medical centres to undergo all the necessary examinations, further treatment and medical rehabilitation. They will be provided with the assistance they need, documents and the financial payments due to them.

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Source: Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways)

Quote: "The strike occurred near one of the carriages. Ukrzaliznytsia's monitoring centre alerted the locomotive crew about the air threat, after which the train was stopped and the evacuation of passengers began."

Details: Ukrzaliznytsia noted that time was "extremely limited". Early information indicates that two passengers who had not yet managed to evacuate sustained shrapnel wounds.

The people injured in the attack were given first aid and were handed over to medics. Railway workers are accompanying the passengers to a medical facility.

Railway workers are currently working to restore train services on the section and are monitoring the security situation in the region.

Background: On the night of 14-15 May, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with six missiles and 141 strike UAVs and decoy drones of various types. Air defence forces downed 130 Russian UAVs and one Kh-31P missile, and strikes were recorded at six locations.

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Source: Ukrainian Air Force

Quote: "As of 09:00, air defence had shot down or jammed one Kh-35 anti-ship missile and 130 enemy UAVs, including Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas and Parodiya decoy drones, in Ukraine's south, north and east.

Five Kh-31P anti-radar missiles failed to reach their targets. Impacts from seven strike UAVs were recorded at six locations, as well as debris from downed drones at seven locations."

Details: According to the Air Force, since 18:00 on 14 May, Russian forces have launched five Kh-31P anti-radar missiles from the airspace over the Black Sea and one Kh-35 anti-ship missile from temporarily occupied Crimea.

Russia also launched 141 strike UAVs, including Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas and Parodiya decoy drones, from the Russian cities of Bryansk, Kursk, Oryol, Millerovo and Primorsko-Akhtarsk and the temporarily occupied territory in Donetsk, as well as from Hvardiiske and Cape Chauda in temporarily occupied Crimea.

The air attack was repelled by aircraft, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, as well as mobile fire groups from Ukraine's defence forces.

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Source: a statement by IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack, as reported by Reuters

Details: Kozack told journalists that it is critically important for Ukraine to mobilise more domestic financing to cover its "very, very significant" financial needs in addition to the major external assistance it has been receiving from donors since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

In her view, Ukrainian authorities must broaden the country's tax base and bring part of the grey economy, estimated at approximately 45% of gross domestic product, out of the shadows and into the formal sector.

Tax changes will also be discussed under the programme, including the possible introduction of VAT on low-value parcels from abroad and a tax for the self-employed.

The IMF stresses that the reforms stipulated by the loan programme are necessary not only for obtaining financing but also for advancing Ukraine's path towards European Union membership.

Background:

• Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund are discussing alternatives to value-added tax for sole traders to generate budget revenue for the coming year.
• The parliamentary finance committee recommended the adoption in its entirety of Bill No. 15111-d on the taxation of digital platforms, which is a structural cornerstone of the new IMF financing programme.

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Source: Oleh Kiper, Head of Odesa Oblast Military Administration; Oleksandr Hanzha, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration; Viacheslav Chaus, Head of Chernihiv Oblast Military Administration

Details: Kiper said Russian forces had targeted civilian infrastructure in Odesa Oblast, including residential areas and businesses.

Two people were injured in the attack. Russian strikes damaged four houses, technical facilities, a non-residential building, utility and office buildings and cars.

Emergency and municipal services are working at the sites.

A Russian drone also struck a transport infrastructure facility in the town of Vilniansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Two civilians were injured – an 88-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man. They are receiving the necessary medical assistance.

In addition, Russian forces struck a village in the Horodnia hromada in Chernihiv Oblast with a Geran drone in the morning, setting a house on fire. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

A 45-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter were injured in the attack. Both were taken to hospital.

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Source: Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko on Telegram

Quote: "As of now, 24 are confirmed to have been killed, including three children. Forty-eight people have been injured."

Details: The search and rescue operation lasted more than 28 hours. Emergency workers cleared over 3,000 cubic metres of building debris.

State Emergency Service units moved on to emergency repair work on the morning of 15 May.

Update: Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that three girls aged 12, 15 and 17 had been killed.

"Twenty-four people out of more than 50 injured are currently in hospital. All are receiving the necessary medical treatment," he said.

Friday 15 May has been declared a day of mourning in Kyiv for those killed in the large-scale Russian attack on 14 May.

Background:

• A part of a high-rise residential building collapsed during the combined Russian strike on Kyiv. The attack claimed 24 lives, including three children.
• The strike also damaged almost a dozen high-rise residential buildings, a car service station, a business centre, a supermarket and other facilities, as well as nearly 30 cars.

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Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 08:00 on 15 May

Details: In total, 241 combat clashes were recorded over the past day.

On the North Slobozhanshchyna front and in the operational zone in Russia's Kursk Oblast, the Russians launched three airstrikes, using seven guided bombs, and conducted 97 strikes on the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements, including 12 from multiple-launch rocket systems. Seven Russian assaults were recorded.

On the South Slobozhanshchyna front, the Russians conducted 14 assaults on Ukrainian positions near the settlements of Vovchanski Khutory, Lyman and Starytsia and towards Ternove, Radkivka and Izbytske.

On the Kupiansk front, the Russians conducted four attacks near the settlements of Kurylivka, Novoplatonivka and Pishchane.

On the Lyman front, Russian forces attempted to penetrate the Ukrainian defence eight times, attacking near the settlements of Drobysheve, Ozerne, Yampil, Dibrova and Stavky.

On the Sloviansk front, the Russians attempted to advance twice towards the village of Rai-Oleksandrivka.

On the Kramatorsk front, Ukrainian troops repelled a Russian attack near the village of Pryvillia.

On the Kostiantynivka front, the Russians conducted 28 attacks near the settlements of Kostiantynivka, Pleshchiivka, Ivanopillia, Illinivka, Rusyn Yar, Toretske, Kucheriv Yar and Novopavlivka.

On the Pokrovsk front, Ukrainian defenders stopped 39 Russian assaults near the settlements of Nove Shakhove, Nykanorivka, Rodynske, Kotlyne, Novooleksandrivka, Hryshyne, Serhiivka, Udachne and Molodetske and towards Bilytske, Vasylivka and Novopavlivka.

On the Oleksandrivka front, the Russians conducted three attacks towards the settlements of Oleksandrohrad, Sichneve and Novohryhorivka.

On the Huliaipole front, the Russians conducted 25 attacks near the settlements of Nove Zaporizhzhia, Zlahoda, Huliaipole, Sviatopetrivka, Dobropillia, Olenokostiantynivka, Charivne, Zaliznychne, Hirke and Huliaipilske.

On the Orikhiv front, Ukrainian troops stopped three Russian attempts to advance near the settlements of Shcherbaky and Plavni.

On the Prydniprovske front, the Russians carried out three unsuccessful attacks towards Antonivka.

On the Volyn and Polissia fronts, there is no evidence of any offensive Russian groups being formed in the area.

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Source: European Pravda, citing a joint interview given by Breuer and his UK counterpart Sir Richard Knighton to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung

Quote from Breuer: "Various indicators – rearmament, increase in personnel numbers, economic and political changes – all point to one possible date of a Russian attack on NATO: 2029. Could it happen earlier? Yes."

Details: Breuer said this is why NATO must be prepared for immediate combat readiness, strengthen its military capability by 2029 and achieve technological superiority by 2035 and beyond.

"A new military strategy and capability profile define the way forward," he said.

Knighton noted that it is difficult to predict an exact date, but the threat is clearly increasing.

"Russia is conducting combat operations in Ukraine, learning as it goes and developing new technologies. And Putin has demonstrated his willingness to attack sovereign states. The closer you are to the Russian border, the more keenly this is felt," he said.

Background:

• Estonian intelligence said in its annual report that Russia does not intend to launch a military attack on any NATO member this year or next year, but will continue rebuilding its armed forces amid concerns about European rearmament.
• Lieutenant General Gerald Funke, Chief of the Bundeswehr Joint Support Command Headquarters, warned that Russia could attack NATO countries within the next two to three years.
• NATO has planned to create an unmanned robotic zone along its border with Russia and Belarus over the next two years and to pre-position significantly more weapons there.

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Source: Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration; Kherson City Military Administration; Oleksandr Hanzha, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration

Quote from Fedorov: "One person has been killed in an enemy attack on the Polohy district."

Details: Fedorov said that Russian forces had conducted 772 strikes on 44 settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast over the past day.

A 66-year-old man suffered severe injuries overnight after Russian forces attacked Kherson's Dniprovskyi district with a drone.

"The man suffered blast injuries and shrapnel wounds to the head and thigh. He is in an extremely critical condition. Doctors are fighting to save his life," Kherson City Military Administration reported.

Russian forces also attacked two districts of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast nearly 20 times. The city of Nikopol as well as the Marhanets and Pokrovske hromadas came under attack in the Nikopol district. An office building and two ambulances were damaged there. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

"Pavlohrad and the Bohdanivka hromada came under attack in the Pavlohrad district. Nine houses, garages, outbuildings and a car were damaged. No civilians were injured," Hanzha said.

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