Ukrainian Telegram channels publish pictures of the Ukrainian POWs exchanged for Russian POWs. Kateryna Polishchuk, the legendary paramedic from Azovstal.
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Mykhailo Dianov is another Azovstal hero freed in POWs exchange.
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The head of Mariupol police Mykhailo Vershynin (the right picture shows him after the release, pictures from Tryxa).
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The exchange apparently happened on the Russian-Ukrainian or Belarusian-Ukrainian border in Chernihiv region. The video is from Suspilne TV channel.
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Sviatoslav Yermolov, another policemen from Mariupol. Picture source: Telegram Мариуполь сейчас.
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More pictures of the freed Ukrainian soldiers. It’s different to find the original source, these photos appeared in many Telegram channels almost simultaneously.
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Pregnant Azovstal medic Mariana Mamonova is said among the released POWs, no recent picture of her available yet.
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Russian sources re-posted a quotation from a Donetsk “official” who said that the Ukrainian POWs were exchanged for the Russian POWs taken during the recent Kharkiv offensive, plus Russian pilots.
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The Azovstal defenders leadership returned to Ukraine, at least we can see Denys Prokopenko and Sviatoslav Palamar among others here. Serhiy Volyna (last photo) was released, too, according to some sources.
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Dmytro Kozatsky, the author of this photo, was released, too.
Air alert is in Kyiv and across Ukraine. Telegram channels report about launches of cruise missiles from Russian strategic bombers. Also there are drones in northern Ukraine, possibly Shaheds.
There are reports of explosions in central Ukrainian Dnipro city.
Another wave of Shaheds is in the southern Ukraine.
Recent pictures of Bakhmut published by Russian propaganda Telegram channels.
Note the severely damaged Metalurg stadium. The stands seats read “Bakhmut”.
The Ukrainian military says it controls a part of the town.
Photos of May 17, 2023.
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72,000 people lived here in 2021. It was an important industrial and food processing center.
More pictures from May 17, 2023.
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Now, Bakhmut is just another Donbas town that was destroyed by the Russian military, just like Avdiyivka, Lyman, Mariupol, Maryinka, Popasna, Soledar, Volnovakha, etc.
Many hours of power outages in Kyiv (and other Ukraine regions) after Russians bombed energy facilities. A darkish but working Auchan supermarket in a closed shopping mall was a new experience. Just a few pictures. This is how it looked from outside, no lights on the facade.
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It was around 9 p.m. A calm secutity guard in a vast empty space (on the left). He told me that the supermarket works until 9:30 p.m., but probably the management will close earlier.
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Freezers in frozen food section are covered to keep frost a bit longer. The power outage had been continuing for three hours when I arrived. The second picture is milk section. The third one is cheese.
The word “partial” in Putin’s speech means nothing, as it was not said which part of the population it covers: 5/6 or 1/150. Basically this means a license to recruit as many people as they can supply with guns. And Russians are aware they can trust no word from the authorities.
Also the mobilization decree in fact prohibits soldiers from rejecting participation in military operations. They can leave army only due to old age, illness, and prison sentence now. There were plenty of refuseniks/otkazniks before, it looks like Putins wants this to end.
Minister Shoigu speaks after Putin, he claims that Russia is going to mobilize 300000 people. The mostly will be used to control occupied territories. Earlier he said that RF lost below 6000 people in Ukraine, i.e. lies obvious to everybody.
A few Ukraine commercial radio stations were hacked: they aired news bulletins with fake information on Zelensky illness and power transfer to the head of the Ukrainian parliament, according to a Facebook post by the head of the Ukrainian Public Radio Dmitry Khorkin.
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The three stations he is in charge (the Ukrainian Radio and two other public radio stations) were not affected.
Industry sources say that recorded news bulletins were replaced in playlists of two commercial music stations.
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Hromadske Radio was not affected, according to our technical and program staff.