News from occupied Ukraine: FSB facility struck in Crimea, civilians in Oleshky trapped in urgent need of aid

Prefer on Google by Yuliia Taradiuk Victory Day celebrations in Russian-occupied Mariupol on May 9, 2026. (Andriushchenko Time / Telegram) This weekly update from the Kyiv Independent aims to shed light on the situation facing Ukrainians living under Russian occupation and the ever-tightening control of information imposed by the Kremlin. Ahead of Victory Day, a new wave of house evictions in Russian-occupied Mariupol was started, Petro Andriushchenko, former Mariupol mayoral advisor and head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, reported on May 9. "The occupying authorities 'congratulated' the residents of Mariupol on Victory Day with a barrage of notices regarding evictions and declarations that apartments were ownerless," Andriushchenko said . The housing situation in Mariupol and other occupied areas worsened further in December 2025, when Russian President Vladimir Putin effectively legalized property theft in Ukraine's occupied territories with a decree granting authorities the power to seize residential premises that "show signs of being ownerless." In many cases, the Ukrainian owners of such properties either fled or were killed during Russia's full-scale invasion. According to Andriushchenko, Russian-controlled city authorities plan to put most of Mariupol's apartments up for sale or allocate them as staff housing for public-sector employees by June 1. Denis Pushilin, the head of the Russian illegal occupation administration in Donetsk Oblast , claimed on April 22 that the administration will seize the homes of Ukrainians who have left Mariupol. The National Guard's 1st Azov Corps released footage of Ukrainian reconnaissance and strike drone systems in Mariupol, announcing their "return" to the Russian-occupied city, according to a May 8 statement on Facebook. 'The Azov (Corps) is already patrolling its hometown of Mariupol . For now, from the air. But there's more to come," the statement read. Mariupol, in Donetsk Oblast , has been under Russian occupation since May 21, 2022, when Ukrainian forces withdrew from the Azovstal Steel Plant. Among those defending the city were fighters from the Azov Battalion, who later surrendered to Russian forces, with some still remaining in captivity. Read the full report and watch the video. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on May 6 condemning the "severe humanitarian crisis" in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast that it said was caused by Russia's violation of international humanitarian law. The most dire situation, according to civilians and volunteers, is in the occupied front-line city of Oleshky , where roughly 2,000 civilians are trapped with no safe evacuation options, limited food, no drinking water, and no other utilities. Residents live amid a Russian military presence and frequent strikes by both Russian and Ukrainian forces. "If the situation doesn't improve, people will just die there from hunger. Because there's no way out, no food supplies coming in," an Oleshky resident who escaped Russian occupation in early April 2026 told the Kyiv Independent. The Foreign Ministry said that Russian forces are blocking evacuations of Ukrainian civilians trapped in the area near Oleshky and obstructing the delivery of goods, food, and medicine. The situation is "particularly alarming," and there is an "urgent need for humanitarian aid" in the settlements of Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Stara Zburivka, and Nova Zburivka in Kherson Oblast, where "basic living conditions are entirely nonexistent," the ministry said. "Critical infrastructure is destroyed; there is no electricity or gas. Residents attempting to buy food or flee in private vehicles are being targeted by Russian drone attacks," the statement said. Russia plans to expand its exploitation of resources, including grain and minerals, in Ukraine's occupied territories, President Volodymyr Zelensky said May 6. "In the southern Ukrainian lands currently under occupation , Russia plans to implement the same processes of looting and deindustrialization that it carried out in the captured Donbas region," Zelensky said in a Telegram post. "We have clear documents regarding Russia's plans to use our temporarily occupied territory," Zelensky noted after receiving a report from Oleh Ivashchenko, head of Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR). Russia exports stolen Ukrainian grain , engaging in systematic seizure from occupied territories and orchestrating shipments through various networks since the start of the full-scale war in 2022. Drones reportedly struck a Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) facility in Russian-occupied Crimea overnight, Telegram channels reported on May 6. A series of explosions rocked Russian-occupied Armiansk in Crimea at around 9 p.m. local time on May 5, and videos began circulating on social media showing explosions in Crimea and the aftermath of a drone strike on an FSB building. The Crimean Wind, a pro-Ukrainian monitoring channel on Telegram, reported on May 6 that the FSB border guard service building in Armiansk was hit. "Half of the FSB building is completely gone, according to our subscribers," the Crimean Wind wrote . Amid intensified Ukrainian drone strikes, Russian proxy authorities in occupied Crimea have canceled Victory Day celebrations due to "safety concerns," Crimea's head of Russian occupation authorities, Sergey Aksyonov, reported on May 5. Aksyonov said that this year in Crimea , there will be no military parade or other major events, including the regular Immortal Regiment march. "This decision by the authorities is based on security considerations," Aksyonov wrote in a Telegram post, without mentioning Ukraine or drones. Every year on May 9, Russia stages large-scale military parades in Moscow and other cities in Russia and occupied Ukraine to commemorate the end of World War II in Europe. The celebrations emphasize the Soviet Union's role in the victory, and the Kremlin uses the event to showcase its military might and reinforce official propaganda narratives around the war in Ukraine. But projecting military might will be particularly tricky for the Kremlin this year — it will not feature a traditional column of military vehicles "due to the current operational situation," Russia's Defense Ministry said April 28. Ukraine has ramped up its strikes on Russian military facilities and infrastructure supporting the Russian army in recent weeks, both in occupied territories and inside Russia. Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) released a video on May 5 showing the targets within occupied Ukraine that were struck by its special operations unit "Ghosts." The targets included a Be-12 Chaika aircraft, three Project 05060 boats, a support vessel, and a hangar for storing Project 05060 assault boats. "Specialists from the 'Ghosts' unit... continue to implement a systematic approach to neutralizing Russian military facilities in the temporarily occupied Crimea," HUR wrote. Ukraine has brought back 15 children and teenagers from Russian-occupied territories and from Russia to areas under its control over the past week, Save Ukraine, a Ukrainian humanitarian NGO, said on May 5. "But thousands of children remain trapped, where they are forced to forget their roots and are openly being prepared for war. But we will not stop," the statement read . Among those rescued is 17-year-old Yevheniia, whose home was searched by armed Russian soldiers at least ten times, Save Ukraine said. Yevheniia had to attend a school run by occupation authorities, where children were forcibly enrolled as "cadets," dressed in military uniforms, and repeatedly told that war is normal. Another child, 14-year-old Alina, secretly continued her education at a Ukrainian school while explosions were heard near her home. She was denied medical treatment and rehabilitation under the occupation because her family refused to obtain Russian documents. According to Ukraine's national " Children of War " database, at least 20,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted from Russian-occupied territories and taken to Russia or Russian-controlled areas since February 2022. Some 1.6 million remain under Russian occupation, according to Bring Kids Back UA. Ukrainian officials estimate the real figure of abducted children could be far higher. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets puts the number at up to 150,000 , while Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Daria Herasymchuk has given a range of 200,000–300,000 . In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for their role in state-sanctioned child abductions. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained a doctor in occupied Donetsk on suspicion of treason, the Russian news outlet Vesti reported on May 5, releasing a video of his detention. As reported by Vesti, the FSB claimed the employee of a medical facility in the city of Donetsk, occupied by Russia since 2014, provided Ukrainian intelligence agencies with information on the locations of Russian troops in Khartsyzsk and the Makiivka area. It also added that the suspect provided Ukraine with information about patients admitted to the medical facility who had been wounded as a result of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strikes. The published video showed three individuals in camouflage uniforms grabbing the arms of a man dressed in a white coat. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the information independently. 0:00 / 1× The video published on May 5 shows a doctor accused of treason and detained in a hospital in Russian-occupied Donetsk. (Vesti / Telegram) Note from the author: Hi! This is Yuliia, Reporting on the Russian-occupied territories is not easy, as journalists cannot safely travel there and report from the ground because of the risk of detention or death. But we at the Kyiv Independent are trying to bring more news about these territories in whatever ways we can. If you have any questions regarding the occupied territories, write to me by email, and we would be happy to answer them. And consider joining our community to support this work.