Russia-Ukraine conflict key developments on day 1184

Friday 23 May 2025 - 10:33

By: Zahouani Ilham

Russia-Ukraine conflict key developments on day 1184

On Friday, May 23, intense military actions continued between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian drones caused significant disruptions to air traffic near Moscow, grounding flights at major airports after 35 drones targeting the city were shot down, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence. Overall, 46 drones attacked the Russian capital, while 70 more targeted other sites nationwide.

In retaliation, Russia launched 128 drones against Ukraine overnight, but Ukraine’s air force intercepted or lost 112 of them before they reached their targets. A major Ukrainian strike hit the Russian town of Lgov in the Kursk region, injuring 12 civilians.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former top military commander, expressed skepticism about the possibility of Ukraine regaining its pre-2014 borders or even those before the full-scale 2022 invasion. He cautioned against expecting any quick peace or restoration of old borders.

On the diplomatic front, Russia confirmed receiving a prisoner exchange list from Ukraine, following last week’s agreement in Istanbul to swap 1,000 prisoners from each side.

In regional security news, Finland is closely observing a buildup of Russian troops along its long shared border and maintains its closed border policy since December 2023 after a large influx of migrants without visas.

On the economic front, G7 finance ministers, after their recent meeting in Canada, announced plans to impose additional sanctions on Russia if no ceasefire is reached. They also committed to preventing any countries or entities involved in supporting Russia’s war efforts from benefiting from Ukraine’s future reconstruction.

Finally, Russia is moving to block foreign firms from reclaiming assets left behind after they withdrew post-2022 invasion, allowing Russian entities to refuse asset returns under certain conditions.