May 23, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has ruled out a ceasefire with Russia and said Kyiv would not accept any deal with Moscow that involved ceding territory.

Podolyak said making concessions would backfire on Ukraine because Russia would hit back harder after any break in fighting.

“After a while, with renewed intensity, the Russians will build up their weapons, manpower and work on their mistakes, modernize a little, fire many generals … And they'll start a new offensive, even more bloody and large-scale,” Podolyak said.

“Russia can't be left halfway because they will (develop) a 'revanchist' mood and be even more cruel.”

Podolyak also dismissed calls for an urgent ceasefire that would involve Russian forces remaining in territory they have occupied in Ukraine’s south and east, saying “the (Russian) forces must leave the country and after that the resumption of the peace process will be possible.”

Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Andriy Yermak echoed Podolyak’s words, tweeting Sunday that “the war must end with the complete restoration of Ukrainian territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

Russia has "likely suffered a similar death toll" in the first three months of its invasion of Ukraine to that of the Soviet Union during its nine years of war in Afghanistan,  the UK Ministry of Defence said Monday.

Tuesday marks three months since Russia launched its assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan ran from December 1979 to February 1989.

Some context: The official Soviet death toll during the Afghan War was around 15,000 soldiers. In March, senior NATO officials estimated that as many as 15,000 Russian soldiers may have been killed in Ukraine in just one month alone.

"What would happen if we cut off your ear?" the soldiers asked Oleksandr Vdovychenko. Then they hit him in the head.

The punches kept coming whenever his interrogators — a mixture of Russian soldiers and pro-Russian separatists — didn't like his answers, he later told his family.

The men asked about his politics, his future plans, his views on the war. They checked his documents, took his fingerprints and stripped him to check if he had any nationalist tattoos or marks caused by wearing or carrying military equipment.

Maria said her father received so many blows to his head during the interrogation last month that several medical examinations have now confirmed his sight has been permanently damaged.

Yet Oleksandr was one of the lucky ones. He made it through "filtration."

When Russian troops first started taking over villages and towns in eastern Ukraine in early March, following their invasion of the country, evidence began to emerge of civilians being forced to undergo humiliating identity checks and often violent questioning before being allowed to leave their homes and travel to areas still under Ukrainian control.

Three months into the war, the dehumanizing process known as filtration has become part of the reality of life under Russian occupation.

CNN spoke to a number of Ukrainians who have gone through the filtration process over the last two months. Many are too scared to speak publicly, fearing for the safety of relatives and friends who are still trying to escape Russian-held areas.

All of the people CNN spoke to have described facing threats and humiliation during the process. Many have witnessed or know of people who have been picked up by Russian troops or separatist soldiers and subsequently disappeared without a trace.

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Ukrainians must endure a brutal 'filtration' process to escape Russian-held territory. Here's what that means

At least one person was killed on Sunday after Russia fired "naval-based cruise missiles" at the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian military.

Here are the latest developments:

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that her country would deploy an extra 30 defense force personnel to the United Kingdom to support the training of Ukrainian armed forces.

They will train Ukrainian soldiers on how to use the L-119 light gun, she added.

The troops, training ammunition and surplus equipment including aiming systems will be moved in an airlift coordinated by the UK.

This follows a previous deployment of 66 New Zealand defense force personnel in April along with a Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules.

The pine forests around Irpin are Oleh Bondarenko's happy place. He discovered them as a child, when his mom sent him to the area for summer camp, and he has been coming back ever since.

The hour-long journey from Kyiv — a trip he has made many times over the decades — was filled with anguish for Bondarenko, who worried what he would find in Irpin.

This area was under Russian control for several weeks in March; it has subsequently become known around the world as the site of some of the worst atrocities committed by Russia in this war. At least 1,200 bodies of civilians have been discovered in the region since Russian troops withdrew from there, according to the Kyiv region police. At least 290 of them were found in Irpin, according to the city's mayor.

In addition to the human toll, the destruction Russian forces caused to the landscape here is brutal and omnipresent: Scorched earth, forest floors ravaged by missiles, and trees broken down and uprooted, while abandoned military equipment litters the ground. Many of the town's neat houses lie in ruins; the woodland and green spaces around them are off limits.

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Ukraine's natural environment is another casualty of war. The damage could be felt for decades | CNN

More than 100 million people have been forced to flee conflict, violence and persecution, a record figure setting a “staggering milestone,” the United Nations refugee agency said Monday.

“One hundred million is a stark figure — sobering and alarming in equal measure. It’s a record that should never have been set,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

“This must serve as a wake-up call to resolve and prevent destructive conflicts, end persecution, and address the underlying causes that force innocent people to flee their homes.”

The UNHCR said the war in Ukraine has displaced 8 million within the country this year, and more than 6 million refugee movements from Ukraine have been registered. The number has also been propelled by "new waves of violence" or conflict in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Nigeria, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a “historic” joint customs control with Poland on Sunday, stressing “unity of Ukrainians and Poles is a constant that no one will break.”

Zelensky's comments came on the heels of Polish President Andrzej Duda’s visit to Kyiv earlier in the day. Duda also emphasized the unity between the two countries as he became the first foreign leader since the Russian invasion to address Ukraine’s parliament, the Rada.

Zelensky described Ukrainian-Polish relations as "finally on a completely clean, sincere basis, without any quarrels and old conflict heritage. This is an achievement — the historic achievement of our people. And I want the brotherhood between Ukrainians and Poles to be preserved forever. As I talked about it today in front of the deputies, our unity of Ukrainians and Poles is a constant that no one will break."

Zelensky also said he signed a decree introducing a new award "to thank those cities of partner countries that have helped the most. And Rzeszow became the first such city. The savior city. It is fair to say."

The Ukrainian leader also announced the preparation of a bill that will mirror the law passed in Poland about Ukrainian citizens who sought refuge in Poland and who "have been legally given the same opportunities as Poles."

Nearly 3.5 million Ukrainian refugees have entered Poland since the Russian invasion in February, making it by far the single largest host nation for people fleeing the country, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. 

The Ukrainian leader also said he spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and "discussed ways to increase the volume of our exports, especially agricultural products. As well as the volume of fuel imports to Ukraine."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will "redouble efforts to provide vital food and humanitarian aid" to Ukraine, his office said Sunday.

During a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Johnson spoke about the "despicable" blockade of the key port city of Odesa, according to the statement. The Prime Minister will work to "ensure that the country is able to export to the rest of the world," according to a 10 Downing Street statement.

Johnson said, "every country has a duty to help Ukraine in their struggle for freedom, both now and in the long-term." He reiterated the British people are "1,000% behind the people of Ukraine."