What happened in Ukraine on 17 May 2022?

What was happening in the war in Ukraine on 17 May 2022? That day, a Russian airstrike killed eight people and injured twelve others in Desna, Chernihiv Oblast, according to reports at the time.

Azovstal evacuation

The day before, on 16 May 2022, five buses and an armoured personnel carrier evacuated several hundred soldiers from the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol, following negotiations with the Russian Armed Forces. The evacuated soldiers were to be exchanged for Russian prisoners of war.

Kharkiv and the air war

Also on 16 May, Ukraine said its troops had pushed back Russian forces in a counter-offensive near Kharkiv and reached the border with Russia. Kharkiv governor Oleh Synyehubov confirmed that Ukrainian forces had restored control of a border crossing with Russia in the region.

The same day, the Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had shot down three Ukrainian Air Force warplanes, including a Su-25 over Mykolaiv and a Su-24 strike jet near Snake Island in the Black Sea.

On 15 May, Russia had launched missile strikes from the Black Sea on what it called military infrastructure in Yavoriv Raion, Lviv Oblast, near Ukraine's western border with Poland. Regional governor Maksym Kozytskyy said the target was completely destroyed.

Wider reactions

On 16 May, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia would react to what he called the expansion of military infrastructure by NATO in Sweden and Finland. He said problems were being created for no reason at all and that Russia would react accordingly.

The war also continued to affect business. On 16 May, McDonald's announced that it had begun the process of selling all of its restaurants in Russia, citing the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine as the reason for ending operations after 32 years. It was later announced that the restaurants would reopen under a new brand in mid-June, with their menus retained.