On Friday, May 23, 2018, this is how things are going.
Fighting
- As 35 drones targeted the city were downed on Thursday, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian drones disrupted air traffic around Moscow, grounding aircraft at several major airports.
- A total of 46 Ukrainian drones were launched against Russia’s capital, according to the ministry and the mayor of Moscow, and another 70 were launched against other targets nationwide.
- According to the air force of Ukraine, 128 of the 128 drones were launched overnight by Russia, with 112 of them being shot down, jammed, or lost while en route to their targets.
- In a “massive” Ukrainian strike on the town of Lgov in the Kursk region of Russia, according to Russia, 12 civilians were seriously hurt.
- It was unlikely that Ukraine would be able to reclaim its former top military chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who was known for his clashes with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, from 1991 until the 2014 Russian invasion, according to Valerii Zaluzhnyi. He claimed it might not be possible to maintain Ukraine’s borders until Russia launches a full-scale invasion in 2022.
- Zaluzhnyi stated at a forum in Kyiv, “I hope there are not people in this room who still hope for some kind of miracle or lucky sign that will bring peace to Ukraine, the borders of 1991 or 2022, and that there will be great happiness afterwards.”
- Russia reported that Ukraine had provided a list of names for a prisoner-of-war swap. At a meeting last week between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Istanbul, the leaders of both countries agreed to swap 1, 000 prisoners for each side in order to put an end to the conflict.
Regional security
- Along its 1, 340 km (832 miles) joint border with Russia, Finland said it is closely monitoring a Russian military development. 1, 000 migrants crossed its border without visas in December 2023, prompting Finland to close the border with its neighbor.
Economy
- The G7’s finance ministers discussed further sanctions against Russia if it doesn’t achieve a ceasefire with Ukraine following a meeting in Canada this week. Additionally, they added that they will work to make sure that “no nations or entities” that contributed to “Russia’s war machine” are benefited from Ukraine’s reconstruction.
- Moscow is attempting to prevent foreign companies that have left Russia after the Ukrainian invasion of 2022 from obtaining “buyback” options for assets that were left behind. According to a number of conditions, the bill before Russia’s legislature allows “Russian citizens and companies to refuse to return assets to foreign investors.”
Source: Aljazeera
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