On May 15, Western military experts declared that Ukraine had won the "battle for Kharkiv." Analysts pointed to the retreat of Russian detachments around Kharkiv in the face of Ukrainian counterattacks. Russian troops had been fighting to take control of the city, which lies about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Russian border, since the beginning of the war. Residential areas on the city's outskirts were torn apart, and on March 2, a missile strike hit the city's central square. Thousands of civilians took cover in basements and in the city's metro station. Now, Kharkivites are sorting through the rubble, repairing the public transport system, restoring the electricity and gas supply, and preparing their beauty salons and cafes to open up again. Larisa Kalik went to Kharkiv to talk to the residents bringing the city back to life.

On May 15, Western military experts declared that Ukraine had won the "battle for Kharkiv." Analysts pointed to the retreat of Russian detachments around Kharkiv in the face of Ukrainian counterattacks. Russian troops had been fighting to take control of the city, which lies about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Russian border, since the beginning of the war. Residential areas on the city's outskirts were torn apart, and on March 2, a missile strike hit the city's central square. Thousands of civilians took cover in basements and in the city's metro station. Now, Kharkivites are sorting through the rubble, repairing the public transport system, restoring the electricity and gas supply, and preparing their beauty salons and cafes to open up again. Larisa Kalik went to Kharkiv to talk to the residents bringing the city back to life.

On May 17, lawmakers in the State Duma discussed the possibility of cancelling both gubernatorial and regional and municipal elections scheduled for September 11, 2022. The stated reason is the need to support the president unanimously during Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine. Meduza special correspondent Andrey Pertsev learned that Vladimir Putin has yet to reach a final decision about postponing the elections, but the Federal Security Service and National Security Council are lobbying hard to convince him that it's crucial.

Internet giant Yandex is looking for buyers for its Russian assets Yandex Search, Yandex.Mail, and the movie database Kinopoisk, a source close to the company's co-founder Arkady Volozh told Meduza. This was corroborated by another source close to the company's management.

Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Georgian citizens have enthusiastically supported Ukraine: thousands of people have attended anti-war rallies in Tbilisi, the city is covered in Ukrainian flags, and some Georgians have even chosen to fight alongside Ukrainians as volunteers. Despite all that, official relations between the two countries remain strained. Ukraine withdrew its ambassador from Georgia a month ago and has criticized the country for imposing insufficient sanctions against Russia, while the Georgian government has rejected Ukraine's calls for it to open a "second front" and reclaim its occupied territories from Russia. The conflict has started to affect Georgia's domestic politics as well -- its ruling party is facing accusations of cowardice and of supporting Russia. At Meduza's request, Georgian journalist Iya Barateli reports on how her country is trying to walk the line between Ukraine and Russia.

Russia has been waging a full-scale war against Ukraine for nearly three months. Photographer Petr Kamanin has spent this time taking pictures of Moscow and Muscovites, in an attempt to capture how ordinary, everyday scenes have changed since February 24. Meduza shares these snapshots of the Russian capital along with the photographer's commentary.

A Kyiv court began the first war crimes trial for a Russian soldier on May 13. On Wednesday, May 18, the accused, 21-year-old Vadim Shishimarin, pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a civilian in Ukraine's Sumy region. Meduza interviewed Shishimarin's mother Lyubov, who lives in the town of Ust-Ilimsk in Russia's Irkutsk region (she asked that her surname, which isn't the same as her son's, not be disclosed).

For three weeks, more than 300 refugees from Mariupol have been living in the town of Vrangel in Russia's Far Eastern Primorsky Krai. During Russia's weeks-long siege of Mariupol, which is now under occupation, many residents were unable to safely escape to territory controlled by Kyiv. Instead, some civilians seeking evacuation were forcibly deported to the Russian city of Taganrog. Upon arriving at the local train station, these refugees were talked into going to the country's Far East, where they were promised free housing, reduced mortgage rates, relocation support, and jobs. As a result, some 300 refugees from Ukraine ended up in a small town on the shores of the Nakhodka Bay. In interviews with Meduza, refugees living in Vrangel recounted what has happened to them since arriving in Russia.

Vladimir Putin's eldest known daughter, Maria Vorontsova, is reportedly active in a Telegram chat group used by alumni of Moscow State University's Medical Department, where she sometimes writes about current events. Dmitry Kolezev, the editor-in-chief of the website Republic, shared this information on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, posting several screenshots received from a member of that chat group showing Vorontsova's comments. The messages, if authentic, offer a rare glance at the political thinking of one of the Russian president's closest relatives.

After weeks of defending the Azovstal steel plant as Ukraine's last stronghold in Mariupol, soldiers from the Azov Battalion began leaving the site on May 16. The troops were evacuated into Russian-controlled territory as part of what Kyiv describes as an ongoing "rescue operation." However, officials in Russia and the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) have cast doubt on the possibility of swapping these soldiers in a prisoner exchange, calling instead for Azov troops to face a "tribunal" and even capital punishment.