What did 22 May 2025 follow in Ukraine's news cycle?
A look back at the reports that framed the days before 22 May 2025, from a strike in Sumy Oblast to a killing in Madrid and new EU sanctions.
What had the news already brought by 22 May 2025? Three reports from the preceding two days set the backdrop, each touching a different part of the war and its wider consequences.
On 21 May 2025, six Ukrainian National Guard personnel were killed when a Russian missile struck a training camp in Sumy Oblast. The report was a reminder that the war reached well beyond the front line, into places where troops were being prepared rather than fighting.
The same day brought news from far away. Andriy Portnov, a former People's Deputy of Ukraine and an aide to former president Viktor Yanukovych, was assassinated in Madrid, Spain, by unidentified gunmen. As reported at the time, the attackers had not been identified.
A day earlier, on 20 May 2025, the European Council adopted its 17th sanctions package against Russia. It included 189 additional vessels from Russia's shadow fleet, extending the measures aimed at the ships involved.
Taken together, these reports show the range of the news that preceded 22 May 2025: a strike on a training camp, a killing abroad and a further round of European sanctions. Each was reported on its own terms, and the reports themselves link them to no common cause.
