Have you missed the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Here is the gist of this Friday, May 15, 2026, on the 1,542nd day of the conflict.
Fact of the day
This is an important step. This Friday, 34 member countries of the Council of Europe, as well as the European Union, Australia and Costa Rica, announced their desire to join the future special tribunal for Ukraine, intended to judge the Russian invasion. Meeting in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution laying the foundations for the future “steering committee” of this jurisdiction, desired by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This instance should make it possible to circumvent the impossibility of prosecuting the “crime of aggression” before the International Criminal Court, which Moscow does not recognize. “The moment when Russia will have to be held accountable for its aggression is approaching,” said the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset. Russia has already warned that it will consider the decisions of the future court as “null and void”. For its part, the European Commission announced a contribution of 10 million euros to support the creation of this jurisdiction.
Today’s statement
« The impact of the war will be felt for generations. »
Ukraine’s mental health crisis is palpable and worsening after more than four years of war against Russia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. Psychological stress linked to the devastating war in Ukraine, launched in February 2022 by Russia, has long been a priority subject for the government and for the country’s health system.
Jarno Habicht, the WHO representative in Ukraine, pointed out that already in March 2022, a month after the start of the conflict, the United Nations health agency estimated that 10 million people needed mental health support in the country. “These needs are increasingly important,†he told the press in Geneva, Switzerland, citing the latest WHO data according to which “71% of people suffer from episodes of anxiety, stress and of insomnia. »
The number of the day
3. This is the number of hours during which Helsinki airport, in Finland, suspended its air traffic on Friday evening. Earlier, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo reported on X about a drone alert concerning the Uusimaa region (south), and the strengthening of surveillance by the Finnish armed forces.
The national emergency services also warned of the threat of a drone, and invited the population to take shelter. Last week, the Finnish coast guard announced that two drones suspected of having earlier violated Finnish airspace most likely came from Ukraine.
The trend
After a night of deadly Russian bombings, Ukraine responded by sending drones into Russia. In Ryazan, southeast of Moscow, one of these attacks left four dead and at least 12 injured, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, one of the country’s main judicial bodies. The Russian Defense Ministry said it had shot down a total of 355 Ukrainian drones overnight over around fifteen regions and annexed Crimea.
At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated on Friday that Ukraine had the right to strike oil and military sites in Russia, in retaliation for the deadly attack in kyiv which left at least 24 dead the day before.
Our articles on the war in Ukraine
“Ukraine will not leave unpunished any strike by the aggressor who is the life of our population. We are fully justified in responding by targeting the Russian oil industry, its military production and those directly responsible for war crimes committed against Ukraine and Ukrainians,” he wrote on X.
