Weekly Russia-Ukraine war summary: Elusive saboteurs near Bryansk, record drone strikes on Russia, and Putin’s latest “buffer zone”

On the Pokrovsk front, Russian forces advanced on both eastern and western flanks. They took control of Oleksandropil' and Nova Poltavka in the east, and made tactical gains toward Dachne and Novooleksandrivka in the west, reaching the outskirts of Novomykolaivka. This pressure reportedly led to the replacement of the commander of Ukraine’s 59th Motorized Infantry Brigade, Bohdan Shevchuk. Russian sources also claimed that its troops reached the border of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Region. Ukraine’s DeepState monitoring group, however, reported that the Russian “flag-planting” photo was actually taken near the village of Troitske — a village in the Donetsk Region close to the Donetsk-Dnipropetrovsk regional border — and that the unit responsible later withdrew from the area after sustaining losses.

In the southern Donetsk direction, battles are ongoing in the village of Bahatyr. Ukrainian and Russian sources gave conflicting reports about control over the area. However, Russian drone operators are reportedly attempting to establish positions in the village, which may threaten Ukrainian logistics as far as the Dnipropetrovsk Region. Russian forces also posted “flag-planting” videos from Otradne and advanced along the Novopil’–Zelenе Pole–Novosilka line.

Vladimir Putin once again reiterated his plans for a “buffer zone” along the Russia-Ukraine border. It was his eighth such statement since June 2023 about establishing a “sanitary,” “demilitarized,” or “buffer” zone in the area. According to sources cited by RBC-Ukraine, Russian forces intend to penetrate 15 to 20 kilometers into Ukrainian territory along the borders of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions by the end of 2025.

Following talks with Putin, Donald Trump reportedly refused to support new sanctions on Russia and hinted to European leaders that the U.S. might exit the peace process. The UK and EU, however, have maintained their pressure on Moscow and adopted new sanctions packages against Russia.

Mutual strikes and sabotage

Over the past week, Ukraine’s Air Force reported shooting down 413 drones — including Iranian-designed Shaheds and other unidentified types — out of 934 launched toward Ukraine over the past week (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). A record-setting 273 drones were involved in an overnight assault on May 18. Another 365 drones were reported as “radar-lost.” Russia was also reported to have launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) reported shooting down 835 fixed-wing drones over Russia and the occupied Crimean peninsula. From 8 p.m. on May 20 to 8 a.m. on May 23, it claimed to have downed 1,117 fixed-wing Ukrainian drones — 788 of them over Russia and Crimea. This marks the largest and longest drone assault yet from the Ukrainian side. The Telegram channel Fighterbomber argued that these repeated attacks — which often lead to airport closures and mobile internet outages in Moscow — are aimed at crippling Russia’s transportation and communications infrastructure.

According to data put together by volunteers at the independent investigative organization Conflict Intelligence Team (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), at least 41 civilians were killed and 257 wounded in strikes on civilian infrastructure on both sides of the front between 8 p.m. on May 15 and 8 p.m. on May 22.

Losses

BBC News Russian and the independent exiled Russian publication Mediazona, aided by a team of volunteers, have verified the identities of 109,625 Russian soldiers killed since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the last two weeks alone, 2,009 names were added to their ongoing count of Russian military casualties. The publications noted that in a recent video featuring pro-war singer Vika Tsyganova at a cemetery near Moscow, researchers recognized only two of the 30 names on the graves of Russian soldiers as having been previously documented.

In Russia’s Orel region, a Mi-8 military helicopter crashed at an abandoned chemical plant near the village of Naryshkino, killing all three crew members. Russia’s MoD blamed a technical failure. Pro-Russian military blogger Kirill Fyodorov confirmed that the helicopter had been conducting air defense missions prior to the crash.