Russian President Vladimir Putin is heading to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a two-day trip to Beijing, just days after Trump visited.
The two leaders are set to discuss the proposed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, a Kremlin aide said, which could one day deliver an additional 50 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year from Russia's Arctic gas fields via Mongolia to China.
The meeting comes after Russia attacked a Chinese ship headed for a Ukrainian port, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The Russian drone struck the KSL DEYANG vessel flying under Marshall Islands flag off the coast of Ukraine early on Monday, a source earlier told Reuters news agency.
The vessel was did not contain cargo and was bound for Ukraine's Pivdennyi port in the Odesa region where it was to load iron ore concentrate. Although a fire was sparked, the vessel was not seriously damaged and no one was injured.
“The Russians could not have been unaware of what vessel was at sea,” Mr Zelensky said.
Xi and Putin exchanged “congratulatory letters” on Sunday ahead of the latter’s visit to Beijing, just four days after Donald Trump left China after a high-stakes summit.
Suspected Ukrainian sea drone crashed on Greek island ‘after malfunction’
Moscow pounds cities with over 1,500 drones in largest two-day aerial attack since war began
Latvian prime minister resigns after controversy over stray Ukrainian drones
Shock in Ukraine as corruption court arrests Zelensky’s former right-hand man
Key Points
- Russian drone strikes Chinese cargo vessel bound for Ukraine
- Xi and Putin to hold two-day summit in Beijing days after Trump leaves
- Belarus holds nuclear training drills with Russian weapons
- Russia says it destroyed over 3,000 Ukrainian drones last week
- War Briefing: What we know on the 1,544th day of the war in Ukraine
- Russia attacks Ukraine's Odesa and Dnipro with drones and missiles overnight
Russia's long-range strikes on Ukraine continue as dozens injured
04:36 , Arpan RaiRussia targeted eight regions of Ukraine in its nighttime drone and missile barrage yesterday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said as local authorities reported that the strikes wounded more than two dozen civilians, including three children.
Russian forces fired 524 attack drones and 22 ballistic and cruise missiles, Zelensky said.
The city of Dnipro and the surrounding central region of Ukraine bore the brunt of the attack, officials said.
The barrage continued a recent spiral of long-range strikes that have grown in scale following a 9-11 May ceasefire that US president Donald Trump said he asked Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin to observe but which had little impact.
There is no sign a peace deal is taking shape despite US diplomatic efforts to end Russia's invasion.
Russia hammered Ukraine over several days last week, flattening a Kyiv apartment building where 24 people died.
Russia's Yaroslavl region under drone attack, governor warns
04:22 , Arpan RaiUkrainian drones attacked Russia's Yaroslavl region northeast of Moscow, governor Mikhail Yevrayev said this morning.
He asked drivers in the area to steer away from the capital or use alternative routes to avoid coming under attack or falling debris.
Russia downed a number of Ukraine drones heading towards Moscow, the city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram yesterday.
China's Xi told Trump that Putin might 'regret' invasion of Ukraine
04:09 , Arpan RaiChinese president Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Donald Trump that Russian leader Vladimir Putin might come to regret invading smaller neighbour Ukraine during their talks last week, according to the Financial Times.
Several people familiar with the US assessment of last week’s summit in Beijing said Xi made the remarks when the US and Chinese delegations held wide-ranging talks on Ukraine and Trump suggested that the three leaders should co-operate against the International Criminal Court.
One person aware of the Chinese president’s meeting with former US president Joe Biden said that while the leaders did hold “frank and direct” conversations on Russia and Ukraine, Xi had not previously offered such an assessment of Putin and his war on Ukraine.
Unclear why Russians attacked Chinese vessel, says Ukraine navy spokesperson
03:00 , Alex CroftAs we’ve been reporting, a Russian drone attacked a Chinese-owned cargo ship that was headed for a Ukrainian port, according to Reuters.
We’ve now heard from a spokesperson for the Ukrainian navy, who says it is unclear why Russian forces launched this attack in the Black Sea.
"It is unclear what the Russians were thinking when they struck a Chinese merchant vessel in our sea last night with a Shahed drone,” Dmytro Pletenchuk writes in a post on Facebook.
He questioned whether the strike was a “monstrous mistake”.
Moscow says Ukraine peace process can resume
02:01 , Alex CroftMoscow expects the Russia-Ukraine peace process to be resumed but it is currently paused, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov was commenting on remarks by Donald Trump that deadly Russian strikes on Ukraine could set back peace efforts.
Trump suggested to reporters on Friday that a Russian missile strike on a Kyiv apartment building that killed 24 people, including three children, had delayed efforts to reach peace in the four-year conflict.
Peskov said attention should be paid to ongoing strikes by Ukraine on civilian targets in Russia. Moscow faced its biggest drone attack in over a year at the weekend, with at least three people killed in the wider region around the capital.
Kyiv couple killed in a fierce Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say
01:02 , Alex CroftLike many Ukrainians, Maryna Homeniuk fled her homeland after Russia's full-scale invasion four years ago. She managed to complete her degree in the Czech Republic, adding Vietnamese to her impressive list of languages, before returning home the following year and meeting her beloved, Yurii Orlov.
Homeniuk and Orlov, who captained the Kyiv Floorball Club after playing hockey for teams in the Ukrainian capital, were among the 24 people killed Thursday during a terrifying wave of Russian airstrikes that Ukrainian military officials described as the biggest barrage of the war. A cruise missile flattened their apartment building.
On Saturday, friends and family paid their final respects to Homeniuk, a 24-year-old English teacher. They had hoped to pay tribute to Orlov, too, but his body wasn't ready for burial yet.
“She was a very caring person. I feel very sorry, because she had so many dreams. She worked with children and wanted to have children herself someday, when times were safer,” her friend Olesia Yukhnovych said.
Read more here:
Kyiv couple killed in Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say
Russia has 'serious expectations' for Putin's trip to China, says Kremlin
00:01 , Alex CroftRussia has "very serious expectations" for president Vladimir Putin's trip to China this week, the Kremlin said on Monday.
The two sides will use it to develop their privileged partnership, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Putin is to visit Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, arriving just days after Donald Trump departed the Chinese capital.
The Russian delegation will include relevant deputy prime ministers, government ministers and company heads, Peskov told reporters.
Russian drone hits civilian vessel under Guinea-Bissau flag, says Kyiv
23:00 , Alex CroftA Russian drone hit a civilian vessel under a Guinea-Bissau flag that was heading to Ukraine's port hub of Greater Odesa, the Ukrainian seaport authority has said.
A small fire broke out on the vessel, which the crew quickly extinguished, it said on Monday.
According to preliminary information, no one was injured in the attack and the vessel resumed its journey, it added.
In pictures: Nato holds biggest special forces exercise in Europe
22:01 , Alex Croft
Kyiv condemns nuclear weapons drills in Belarus
21:01 , Alex CroftKyiv has condemned nuclear weapons drills in Belarus, saying that deployment of tactical weapons in the country constituted an "unprecedented challenge" to global security.
"By turning Belarus into its nuclear staging ground near Nato borders, the Kremlin is de facto legitimising the proliferation of nuclear weapons worldwide and setting a dangerous precedent for other authoritarian regimes," the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Kyiv also urged its Western allies to tighten sanctions against Moscow and Minsk: "Such actions must face unequivocal and resolute condemnation from all states that respect the nuclear non-proliferation regime."
Explosives found near crash site of suspected Ukrainian drone in Lithuania
20:00 , Alex CroftExplosives have been found near the debris of a suspected Ukrainian military drone that crashed in Lithuania, and they will be disposed of through an explosion at the scene as the materials are too dangerous to remove, Lithuanian police said.
The drone was not detected when it entered Lithuania, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, chief of Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre, told reporters on Sunday.
It was found crashed in the village of Samane, the centre said, which is 40 km (25 miles) from the Latvian border and 55 km from Belarus. Kyiv has not yet commented on the issue.
Separately, the Latvian army said a drone alert was issued on Sunday morning along its border with Russia.
One drone entered Latvia for a short time during the alert, the army said.
With Reuters
US companies involved in Russian attempts to export grain from occupied Crimea - Zelensky
19:01 , Alex CroftUkraine has observed attempts by Russia to export grain from the occupied Crimea region which involved companies from the United States, president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.
"In particular, we have recorded attempts to organise the export of grain from the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea – and, regrettably, other forms of economic exploitation of the peninsula involving entities from the United States," he said on X.
Mr Zelensky said Moscow was also trying to bring investment from "democratic countries" into Russia's Arctic oil and gas projects.
Our Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has obtained new Russian documents assessing the aggressor state’s losses from the war. Importantly, this is specifically a Russian internal assessment – one they are trying to conceal both from the world and from their own domestic… pic.twitter.com/renq7JzwQN
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 18, 2026
Europe-US unity must survive 'difficult period', says Polish PM
17:59 , Alex CroftTransatlantic unity between Washington and Europe must survive a difficult moment in history, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Monday.
Mr Tusk was stressing the importance of Warsaw's ties to Washington after the Pentagon cancelled plans to deploy 4,000 US-based troops to Poland.
"The task of all of us here in Poland, in Europe, across the Atlantic, in the US, in Canada, is to ensure that transatlantic cooperation, regardless of various political variables, survives this difficult period," Mr Tusk told reporters.
Report: Putin to visit Chinese leader Xi Jinping days after Trump's trip to Beijing
16:58 , Alex CroftRussian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a two-day trip to Beijing next week, the Kremlin said Saturday.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump finished his own state visit to China, where he also met Xi to discuss trade and the U.S. and Israel’s war in Iran.
In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin’s trip, planned for May 19-20, had been scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship.
It said that the two leaders would discuss bilateral relations as well as “key international and regional issues” and economic cooperation.
Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 left Moscow shunned on the global stage and heavily reliant on Beijing for trade due to Western sanctions.
Read more here:
Putin to visit Chinese leader Xi Jinping days after Trump's trip to Beijing
Situation at Zaporizhzhia power plant reaching 'point of no return' -Russian nuclear chief
16:26 , Alex CroftThe situation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine is rapidly reaching the "point of no return", the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom was quoted as saying by Russian state news agencies on Monday.
Alexei Likhachev laid the blame for the situation on Ukrainian attacks - although Russian forces have occupied Europe’s largest power plant since 2022.
Mr Likhachev said there was approximately 2,600 tonnes of nuclear fuel still at the plant, which is under Russian control, according to the TASS state news agency.
Ukrainian finance minister demands more sanctions against Russia
15:54 , Alex CroftUkraine's finance minister Serhii Marchenko said there was a need to increase sanctions against Russia, at the meeting of G7 ministers in Paris on Monday.
He expects the first disbursement to Ukraine from a previously agreed 90 billion euros (£78billion) EU loan in the beginning of June.
"We are finalising all necessary agreements. Probably it will be at the beginning of June," Marchenko told reporters.
"We need to continue to pressure Russia, to put additional sanctions on Russia," he added.
G7 ministers' meeting to discuss conflicts in Ukraine and Iran
15:21 , Alex CroftEuropean Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday that the G7 finance ministers' meeting would discuss the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, and he reaffirmed the need to open the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible.
The meetings are currently underway in Paris - here are some images:
Russia launches 524 drones and 22 missiles overnight - Kyiv
14:50 , Alex CroftRussia launched 524 drones and 22 missiles in overnight attacks targeting Ukraine, Ukraine's air force said on Monday.
Air defence units shot down or neutralised 503 drones and four missiles, the air force said in a post on Telegram.
It said that the main target of the attack was the city of Dnipro and the surrounding region.
Dozens of people have been injured, Ukrainian authorities added.
Bulletin | Four killed and aircraft destroyed as Ukraine launches biggest attack of the year
14:18 , Alex CroftRussian forces reported intercepting 3,124 Ukrainian drones in the past week, with 1,054 destroyed on May 17, marking one of the largest aerial assaults of the year.
Here’s everything you need to know in five bullet points:
At least four killed as Ukraine launches biggest attack of the year
Moldova summons Russian ambassador over stray drone
13:47 , Alex CroftMoldova's foreign ministry has summoned Russia's ambassador to the country on Monday, after a drone crossed into Moldovan airspace on May 13.
The country has lodged a protest with the ambassador over this "serious and unacceptable violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova".
The small former Soviet republic shares a border with Ukraine and also with Nato and EU member Romania.
In pictures: Ukrainian rescuers at site of Russian attack on Dnipro
13:16 , Alex Croft
Russia attacks energy facilities belonging to Naftogaz
12:44 , Alex CroftRussian drones have struck energy facilities belonging to Ukrainian firm Naftogaz in the Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, the company said on Monday.
Among the targets was a filling station, Naftogaz said.
The station's premises and equipment had been completely destroyed and two employees had been injured, it added.
Two killed and two injured in Ukrainian attack on Belgorod
12:15 , Alex CroftTwo people were killed and two more were injured following a Ukrainian drone attack on Monday in Russia's southern Belgorod region, local authorities said.
Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, regularly comes under attack from Kyiv.
Russia faced one of its biggest attacks of the year last week as at least 3,124 Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed, the country’s defence minister said this morning.
Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks are “entirely justified”.
Kyiv couple killed in a fierce Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say
11:55 , Alex CroftLike many Ukrainians, Maryna Homeniuk fled her homeland after Russia's full-scale invasion four years ago. She managed to complete her degree in the Czech Republic, adding Vietnamese to her impressive list of languages, before returning home the following year and meeting her beloved, Yurii Orlov.
Homeniuk and Orlov, who captained the Kyiv Floorball Club after playing hockey for teams in the Ukrainian capital, were among the 24 people killed Thursday during a terrifying wave of Russian airstrikes that Ukrainian military officials described as the biggest barrage of the war. A cruise missile flattened their apartment building.
On Saturday, friends and family paid their final respects to Homeniuk, a 24-year-old English teacher. They had hoped to pay tribute to Orlov, too, but his body wasn't ready for burial yet.
“She was a very caring person. I feel very sorry, because she had so many dreams. She worked with children and wanted to have children herself someday, when times were safer,” her friend Olesia Yukhnovych said.
Read more here:
Kyiv couple killed in Russian airstrike hoped to start a family, mourners say
Russia attacks Panama-flagged civilian vessel in Black Sea, says Odesa governor
11:36 , Alex CroftRussia attacked a Panama-flagged civilian vessel heading to Ukraine's Chornomorsk port in the southern Odesa region on the Black Sea early on Monday, the regional governor said.
It is one of several ships destined for Ukrainian ports that have been struck by Russian forces in the past day.
The vessel was damaged in the attack, which caused a fire, Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that no one had been injured in the incident and that the crew had extinguished the fire.
The vessel has continued on its way, the governor added.
Moscow says Ukraine peace process can resume
11:26 , Alex CroftMoscow expects the Russia-Ukraine peace process to be resumed but it is currently paused, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov was commenting on remarks by Donald Trump that deadly Russian strikes on Ukraine could set back peace efforts.
Trump suggested to reporters on Friday that a Russian missile strike on a Kyiv apartment building that killed 24 people, including three children, had delayed efforts to reach peace in the four-year conflict.
Peskov said attention should be paid to ongoing strikes by Ukraine on civilian targets in Russia. Moscow faced its biggest drone attack in over a year at the weekend, with at least three people killed in the wider region around the capital.
Russia has 'serious expectations' for Putin's trip to China, says Kremlin
10:49 , Alex CroftRussia has "very serious expectations" for president Vladimir Putin's trip to China this week, the Kremlin said on Monday.
The two sides will use it to develop their privileged partnership, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Putin is to visit Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, arriving just days after Donald Trump departed the Chinese capital.
The Russian delegation will include relevant deputy prime ministers, government ministers and company heads, Peskov told reporters.
Xi and Putin to hold two-day summit in Beijing days after Trump leaves
10:39 , Alex CroftXi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are set to hold a two day summit in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, just four days after US president Donald Trump left the Chinese capital.
The pair have exchanged “congratulatory letters” ahead of the visit on Sunday, where they are likely to deepen their strong economic and political ties.
Xi said the bilateral cooperation between Moscow and Beijing had “continuously deepened and solidified”, with 2026 marking the 30th anniversary of their strategic partnership, Chinese state media said.
The Global Times, the Chinese state media tabloid, said Beijing is “fast emerging as the focal point of global diplomacy”, the visits of Trump and Putin show.
But the cooperation between Moscow and China remains a significant cause of concern in the West, with Beijing’s economic support helping to sustain the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Belarus holds nuclear training drills with Russian weapons
10:22 , Alex CroftBelarus has held training drills for the Russian nuclear weapons held on its territory, the defence ministry said.
"The aim of the exercise is to improve the personnel's level of training, to test the Airborne Forces' readiness to carry out their tasks, and to organise combat operations from unplanned areas," the defence ministry said in a statement.
It said the training was not directed against any other state and did not pose security threats in the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear that Moscow retains control of nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus.
Unclear why Russians attacked Chinese vessel, says Ukraine navy spokesperson
09:49 , Alex CroftAs we’ve been reporting, a Russian drone attacked a Chinese-owned cargo ship that was headed for a Ukrainian port, according to Reuters.
We’ve now heard from a spokesperson for the Ukrainian navy, who says it is unclear why Russian forces launched this attack in the Black Sea.
"It is unclear what the Russians were thinking when they struck a Chinese merchant vessel in our sea last night with a Shahed drone,” Dmytro Pletenchuk writes in a post on Facebook.
He questioned whether the strike was a “monstrous mistake”.
In pictures: Damage in Dnipro following Russian drone attack
09:36 , Alex Croft
Russian drone hits civilian vessel under Guinea-Bissau flag, says Kyiv
09:18 , Alex CroftA Russian drone hit a civilian vessel under a Guinea-Bissau flag that was heading to Ukraine's port hub of Greater Odesa, the Ukrainian seaport authority has said.
A small fire broke out on the vessel, which the crew quickly extinguished, it said on Monday.
According to preliminary information, no one was injured in the attack and the vessel resumed its journey, it added.
One killed and 30 injured in overnight Russian attack on Ukraine
08:33 , Arpan RaiAt least one person was killed and more than 30 injured after Russia attacked Ukraine with drones, airstrikes and shelled overnight, targeting cities like Odesa in the south and Dnipro in the southeast.
The drones hit residential buildings, a school and a kindergarten in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local military administration, said on Telegram.
An 11-year-old boy and a 59-year-old man were injured in the attack, he added.
A missile attack on Dnipro injured 18 people, among them a girl of two and a boy of 10, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.
In the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, three people were injured in the overnight attacks, governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Attacks in the southern region of Kherson killed one person and injured nine, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
Ukraine and Hungary agree to hold talks on Hungarian minority, Sybiha says
08:29 , Alex CroftUkrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said he had a "constructive and substantive" call with his Hungarian counterpart Anita Orban over the weekend.
The two agreed to hold a round of Hungarian–Ukrainian expert-level consultations this week "to find practical and robust solutions for the Hungarian minority in the Zakarpattia region", Mr Sybiha said on Monday.
He added on X: "We are prepared to work with the new Hungarian government on all issues of our bilateral agenda, including the national minority topic, with the aim of restoring trust and good-neighbourly relations between our countries.”
Russian drone strikes Chinese cargo vessel bound for Ukraine
08:20 , Alex CroftA Russian drone has struck the Chinese-owned cargo vessel KSL DEYANG under Marshall Islands flag off the coast of Ukraine early on Monday, according to Reuters news agency.
The vessel, which was was without cargo at the time of the attack, was heading for loading iron ore concentrate in Ukraine's Pivdennyi port in the Odesa region, the source said.
It did not suffer serious damage and there were no casualties, they added.
We’re yet to see a response from Beijing, Russia’s most powerful and wealthy ally.
10-year-old boy injured in Russian missile attack overnight
08:05 , Arpan RaiRussia hit the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro with missiles in a separate attack, injuring nine people, including a 10-year old boy, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.
Russian forces have continued their attacks on Ukraine with drones and missiles overnight, targeting the cities of Odesa in the south and Dnipro in the southeast, officials said.
Zelensky signals deeper strikes in Russia
07:50 , Arpan RaiUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky lauded the Ukrainian military's "significant" long-range strikes on Moscow over the weekend, stating that countries should not go to war with Ukraine.
"Many (Western) partners are now signaling that they see what is happening and how everything has changed – both in attitudes toward this war and in the reachability of Russian targets on Russian territory," Zelensky said of the attacks in his evening address yesterday.
"As I said yesterday, Russians should be thinking about their refineries, their oil facilities and enterprises," he said, warning against Ukraine’s long-range capabilities to hit deep inside Russia.
“The war is quite predictably returning to its ‘native harbour,’ and this is a clear signal that one should not pick a fight with Ukraine or wage an unjust war of conquest against another people,” Zelensky said.
Our long-range capabilities are significantly changing the situation – and, more broadly, the world’s perception of Russia’s war. Many partners are now signaling that they see what is happening and how everything has changed – both in attitudes toward this war and in the… pic.twitter.com/z3t7JKigHD
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 17, 2026
Russia says it destroyed over 3,000 Ukrainian drones last week
07:35 , Arpan RaiRussia has intercepted and destroyed at least 3,124 Ukrainian drones over the past week, the RIA state news agency said, citing data from the defence ministry.
RIA, after compiling the data, said the most drones were downed on 13 May and 17 May with 572 and 1,054 units destroyed, respectively, mostly over European Russia.
At least four people were killed, including three in the Moscow region, after Ukraine launched its biggest overnight drone attack on the Russian capital in more than a year, local officials said on Sunday.
Suspected Ukrainian sea drone crashed on Greek island ‘after malfunction’
07:15 , Arpan RaiA military sea drone, laden with explosives, discovered last week on a Greek island is believed by investigators to have veered off course due to a technical malfunction, sources indicated on Friday.
The unmanned vessel, found by fishermen on the shores of Lefkada on 7 May, has sparked diplomatic tensions between Athens and Kyiv, with Greece asserting a Ukrainian origin, a claim officially denied by Ukraine.
Greek intelligence and military units are currently engaged in a detailed analysis of the drone, involving its dismantling and reverse engineering to ascertain its precise characteristics.
Investigators are also meticulously examining its metadata to determine its intended mission and whether it was launched from a larger vessel or from a coastal location, potentially as distant as Libya across the Mediterranean.
Suspected Ukrainian drone crashed on island ‘after malfunction’
Russian management of Zaporizhzhia nuclear station reports Ukrainian shelling
06:51 , Arpan RaiThe Russia-installed management of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station yesterday said that Ukrainian forces had shelled part of the facility for the second day running, damaging a transport workshop but causing no disruption to the plant's operations.
The management, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the incident caused no injuries. The roof of the workshop was damaged along with buses for transporting staff and windows were smashed at a nearby communications building.
The Zaporizhzhia plant has been struck several times by drones since the beginning of the conflict. It generates no electricity, but must keep operating to keep nuclear fuel cool.
Russia's military seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, in the weeks following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Each side regularly accuses the other of military action compromising nuclear safety. The plant's management said on Saturday that a Ukrainian drone fell near the facility's power units but did not detonate and operations at the plant continued as normal.
One killed and 30 injured in overnight Russian attack on Ukraine
06:32 , Arpan RaiAt least one person was killed and more than 30 injured after Russia attacked Ukraine with drones, airstrikes and shelled overnight, targeting cities like Odesa in the south and Dnipro in the southeast.
The drones hit residential buildings, a school and a kindergarten in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local military administration, said on Telegram.
An 11-year-old boy and a 59-year-old man were injured in the attack, he added.
A missile attack on Dnipro injured 18 people, among them a girl of two and a boy of 10, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.
In the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, three people were injured in the overnight attacks, governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Attacks in the southern region of Kherson killed one person and injured nine, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
Young Kyiv couple killed by Russian airstrike wanted to start a family, mourners say
06:06 , Arpan RaiLike many Ukrainians, Maryna Homeniuk fled her homeland after Russia's full-scale invasion four years ago. She managed to complete her degree in the Czech Republic, adding Vietnamese to her impressive list of languages, before returning home the following year and meeting her beloved, Yurii Orlov.
Homeniuk and Orlov, who captained the Kyiv Floorball Club after playing hockey for teams in the Ukrainian capital, were among the 24 people killed on Thursday during a terrifying wave of Russian airstrikes that Ukrainian military officials described as the biggest barrage of the war. A cruise missile flattened their apartment building.
On Saturday, friends and family paid their final respects to Homeniuk, a 24-year-old English teacher. They had hoped to pay tribute to Orlov, too, but his body wasn't ready for burial yet.
“She was a very caring person. I feel very sorry, because she had so many dreams. She worked with children and wanted to have children herself someday, when times were safer,” her friend Olesia Yukhnovych told The Associated Press.
The couple met on a dating app after Homeniuk returned to Ukraine in 2023 from the Czech Republic, where she studied Vietnamese. Friends say she spoke about 10 languages, including fluent Korean and Chinese.
A sensitive soul, she took in abandoned animals, friends said. She also loved seeing the world and would save up for adventures in new countries.
“This is a young person. This is a girl who had absolutely the whole future ahead of her,” said Anastasiia Petrushyna, a friend and colleague. “This future will no longer exist — our youth basically can’t have it. You never know what trouble awaits you.”
Friends said they were glad Homeniuk met Orlov, who was 30 years old when they died. Despite their differences — he loved sports and she loved art — it was obvious to everyone that they cared deeply for one another.
“It’s a shame. I should have been helping prepare for the wedding and I ended up helping prepare for the funeral,” said Yukhnovych. “It’s horrible.”
Ukraine says it blew up Russian plane worth £30m in airbase attack
05:54 , Arpan RaiUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the country’s forces destroyed a rare amphibious aircraft worth £30m in a drone attack deep inside Russia.
Zelensky confirmed shared black-and-white footage purporting to show a first-person-view drone heading towards the Beriev Be-200 plane parked at a military airfield.
The Ukrainian drones also targeted and destoryed a cargo vessel carrying ammunition, several air-defence systems, a training centre and oil facilities, he said.
“The aircraft is powered by two D-436TP turbofan engines, can reportedly reach speeds of up to 720km per h, and has a range of approximately 3,850km. Depending on configuration, it can transport up to 72 passengers or carry roughly 12 tons of water for firefighting missions,” news outlet Ukraine24 reported.
A second drone purportedly showed the view of the attack on the aircraft.
The strike, Zelensky said, was part of a series of “long-range sanctions” carried out on military targets in response to a string of deadly Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine in the past week.
Our long-range sanctions this week. Most of the operations are still ongoing, so the video captures only a portion of our results. Be-200 amphibious aircraft, a Ka-27 helicopter, a cargo vessel carrying ammunition, a Pantsir-S1 surface‑to‑air missile and gun system, a Tor… pic.twitter.com/kX3oPCuok8
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 16, 2026
10-year-old boy injured in Russian missile attack overnight
05:44 , Arpan RaiRussia hit the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro with missiles in a separate attack, injuring nine people, including a 10-year old boy, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.
Russian forces have continued their attacks on Ukraine with drones and missiles overnight, targeting the cities of Odesa in the south and Dnipro in the southeast, officials said.
Drone debris falls on international airport in Moscow
05:32 , Arpan RaiRussia’s largest airport, Moscow's Sheremetyevo, said drone debris had fallen on its territory but caused no damage after a major Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday.
The airport came under attack on a day Ukraine escalated its aerial offensive on Russia.
"Drone debris was detected on the premises of Sheremetyevo Airport. The debris is at a safe distance from passenger and aircraft servicing areas," the airport officials said in a statement, TASS reported.
"There are no casualties or damage in the airport area, and the situation in the passenger terminals remains calm," it added.
The Federal Air Transport Agency had announced flight restrictions on the airports arrival and departure terminals but said it was later lifted.
Indian worker among four killed in attacks on Russia
05:17 , Arpan RaiAt least four people were killed in Russian strikes on Russia over the weekend, including an Indian worker.
"One Indian worker has lost his life and three others have been injured in a drone attack in the Moscow region earlier today," the Indian embassy in Russia said in a statement.
The three other injured were also Indian nationals, it said.
“Embassy officials have visited the location and met the injured workers in the hospital,” it said in a post on X.
One Indian worker has lost his life and three others have been injured in a drone attack in Moscow region earlier today. Embassy officials have visited the location and met the injured workers in the hospital.
— India in Russia (@IndEmbMoscow) May 17, 2026
The Embassy condoles the loss of life and is working with the…
Russia attacks Ukraine's Odesa and Dnipro with drones and missiles overnight
04:39 , Arpan RaiRussia attacked Ukraine overnight with drones and missiles, targeting the southern city of Odesa and Dnipro in the country's southeast, Ukrainian officials said this morning.
In Odesa, a major Black Sea export port, drones hit residential buildings along with a school and a kindergarten, injuring a 11-year old boy and a 59-year old man, Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local military administration, said on Telegram.
Separately, three people were injured after Russia hit the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro with missiles, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.
Briefing: What we know on the 1,544th day of the war in Ukraine
04:32 , Arpan Rai- Russia says its air forces intercepted and destroyed at least 3,124 Ukrainian drones over the past week, as the country under one of its biggest attacks in the course of war with Ukraine
- At least 1,054 drones were destroyed, respectively, mostly over European Russia, its defence ministry said
- In Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s military response to Russia’s heaviest bombardment of his country was “entirely justified” and accused Moscow of prolonging the war
- At least four people were killed, including three in the Moscow region, after Ukraine launched its biggest overnight drone attack on the Russian capital in more than a year, local officials said on Sunday
Russia says it destroyed over 3,000 Ukrainian drones last week
04:06 , Arpan RaiRussia has intercepted and destroyed at least 3,124 Ukrainian drones over the past week, the RIA state news agency said, citing data from the defence ministry.
RIA, after compiling the data, said the most drones were downed on 13 May and 17 May with 572 and 1,054 units destroyed, respectively, mostly over European Russia.
At least four people were killed, including three in the Moscow region, after Ukraine launched its biggest overnight drone attack on the Russian capital in more than a year, local officials said on Sunday.
In pictures: Ukraine and Russia prisoner of war swap
04:00 , Rebecca Thomas
US Treasury allows sanctions waiver on Russian seaborne oil to lapse
02:30 , Rebecca ThomasThe Trump administration on Saturday allowed a sanctions waiver to lapse that had previously allowed countries, including India, to buy Russian seaborne oil after a month-long extension aimed at easing oil supply shortages and high prices due to Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had previously said he would not renew the general license allowing the purchase of Russian oil stored on tankers. As of early afternoon Washington time on Saturday, no renewal notice had been posted on the Treasury website. A Treasury spokesperson declined further comment.
Two top Democratic U.S. senators, Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren, on Friday urged the Trump administration against renewing the waiver, arguing that it was providing revenue to Russia to aid its war in Ukraine, but there was no evidence it was bringing down fuel costs for American consumers.
The prior extension was part of the Trump administration's effort to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the Iran war.
The Ukrainian flag has been removed from outside Essex County Council's offices by the newly elected Reform UK administration, according to reports by the BBC.
A second Union flag was instead put up in its place outside County Hall in Chelmsford on Friday.
Council leader Peter Harris said in a statement to the BBC that it was a "proud moment".
Harris said: "The replacement of the Ukraine flag does not diminish the support and generosity that Essex residents have shown the people of Ukraine since 2022, and I know this will continue."
A spokesman said there would be discussions with the county's Ukrainian community before finding the flag a new home.
Pictures showing the aftermath of Russia’s strike in Kyiv that killed 24 people.
Russia says prison population falls as convicts sent to fight Putin's war in Ukraine
Sunday 17 May 2026 22:30 , Rebecca ThomasRussia is witnessing a decrease in its population inside prison, with a drop of more than 180,000 people, in the past five years, the country’s prison chief said.
"If at the end of 2021 there were 465,000 (prisoners), then now there are 282,000," said Arkady Gostev, the head of Russia's penitentiary service.
Around 85,000 of the current prison population is held in pre-trial detention, he told TASS state news agency.
Gostev said the major decline in the prison population was partly driven by the army's recruitment drive, but also due to more suspended sentences and other forms of punishment handed out.
Moscow has regularly relied on recruiting its prisoners in exchange for buying out their sentences and sent them on the Ukraine frontline, but experts flagged that their lack of military and battlefield knowledge made them vulnerable to killings.
The young woman killed in Russian strike that killed 24 people
Sunday 17 May 2026 18:30 , Rebecca ThomasA young woman, Maryna Homeniuk, who died in the Russian strike on Ukraine, which killed 24 people, was a sensitive soul who took in abandoned animals, her friends told reporters.
She died with her partner Yurii Orlov, who captained the Kyiv Floorball Club after playing hockey for teams in the Ukrainian capital.
Russia accuses Ukraine of targeting civilians
Sunday 17 May 2026 16:30 , Rebecca ThomasRussia's foreign ministry accused Kyiv of targeting civilians.
"To the sound of Eurovision songs, the Kyiv regime, financed by the EU, carried out yet another mass terrorist attack," TASS news agency cited the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.
Both sides in the conflict deny deliberately targeting civilians.
