This weekly update from the Kyiv Independent aims to shed light on the situation facing Ukrainians living under Russian occupation and the ever-tightening control of information imposed by the Kremlin.

President says three days of strikes will not ‘go unpunished’ and points to Ukrainian attack on Russian oil refinery. What we know on day 1,543

By Thomas Peter and Olena Harmash KYIV/MOSCOW, May 15 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine swapped 205 prisoners of war each on Friday, part of an agreement linked to a three-day ceasefire earlier this month brokered by U.

Russia launched more than 1,600 drones and missiles over a 30-hour period, marking the most intense aerial attack since the beginning of the full-scale war in 2022. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted a significant portion,

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that Russia and Ukraine had a prisoner exchange on Thursday, each side releasing 205.

Rescue workers ended search operations Friday at the devastated building, which was struck this week during Russia’s heaviest air attack on the Ukrainian capital this year.

Last month, Ukraine managed to liberate more land than Russia seized – the first time Moscow suffered a net loss of territory since Ukraine’s 2024 Kursk incursion.

Russia fired at least 800 drones in a massive daytime barrage on about 20 regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens, including children, in one of the longest attacks by Moscow in the 4-year-old war,

According to updated information released on May 16, the refinery sustained damage to the AVT-3, AVT-4 and AT-6 processing units, as well as a diesel fuel hydrotreating unit. The Ryazan refinery is one of Russia’s largest oil refining facilities and helps supply fuel to Russian occupation forces.