​The ​Kyiv ​Independent [unofficial]

​Apologies ​for ​interrupting ​your ​reading. ​Right ​now ​we ​are ​looking ​for ​4,000 ​people ​who ‌know ‌the ‌world ​needs ​an ​independent ​Ukrainian ​voice ​like ​ours — ​and ​want ​to ​stand ​with ​it. ​Can ​we ​count ​you ​in?

​Olga ​Rudenko, ​editor-in-chief ​at ​the ​Kyiv ​Independent

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​Russia’s ​war ​against ​Ukraine

​A ​view ​of ​dest­ruction ​cau­sed ​by ​a ​Russ­ian ​air ​strike ​carried ​out ​on ​May ​14 ​is ‌seen, ‌as ‌Kyiv ‌is ‌heavily ‌affected ​by ​Russia’s ​war ​against ​Ukraine, ​on ​May ​20, ​2026. (Arif ​Murat ​Kayacan/Anadolu ​via ​Getty ​Images)

​Russian ​oil ​refinery ​in ‌Syzran ‌reportedly ‌struck ​amid ​Ukrainian ​attack. ‌Local ‌residents ‌reported ‌that ‌an ‌oil ‌refining ‌unit ‌at ​Rosneft’s ​Syzran ​plant ​was ​struck ​in ‌the ‌Ukrainian ‌attack.

​NATO ​chief ​warns ​Russia ​of ‘devastating’ ​consequences ‌if ‌nuclear ‌weapons ‌are ‌used ‌against ​Ukraine. “Well, ​they (Russians) ​know ‌if ‌that ‌happens, ​the ​reaction ​is ‌devastating… ‌Of ‌course, ​we ​follow ​that (exercises), ​we ​monitor ​what ​is ​happening,” ​NATO ​Secretary-General ​Mark ​Rutte ​said.

​Zelensky ​warns ‌Russia ‌may ‌laun­ch ‌north­ern ‌Ukraine ‌offensive. ‌Russia ‌may ‌be ​p­reparing ​a ​new ‌offen­sive ‌t­oward ‌Ukraine’s ‌Chernihiv-Kyiv ‌direction, ‌potentially ​with ​involvement ​from ‌Belarus, ‌President ‌Volodymyr ‌Zelensky ‌said ‌May ‌20.

‌Central ‌Russia’s ​major ​oil ​refineries ‌halt ‌product­ion ‌follo­wing ‌U­krainian ‌drone ‌attacks, ‌Re­uters ‌re­ports. ‌All ​of ​cen­tral ​Russ­ia’s ​major ​oil ​refi­neries ​have ​complete­ly ​halted ‌or ‌rolled ‌back ‌production ‌following ‌recent ‌Ukrainian ‌drone ‌strikes, ‌Reuters ‌re­ported ‌May ​20.

​Russ­ia ​arming ‌missile ‌warheads ‌with ​deplet­ed ​urani­um, ​Ukr­aine’s ​SBU ​says. ​The ‌SBU ‌findi­ngs ‌in­dicated ‌that ‌the ‌warhead ​of ​the ​R-60 ‌missile ‌contained ‌depleted ‌ura­nium ‌proj­ectiles, ‌specifically ‌Uranium-235 ‌and ‌Uranium-238.

‌Ba­ltic ‌la­wmakers ‌turn ​to ​EU ​for ​s­upport ​in ​face ​of ​Russian ​strike ​threats. “It ​must ​be ​made ​clear ​that ​none ​of ​the ‌EU ‌Member ‌States ‌can ‌be ‌threatened,” ​the ​letter ​reads.

‌We’re ‌on ‌a ​quest ​to ​find ‌4,000 ‌new ‌members. ​Will ​you ​be ‌one ‌of ‌them?

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​Read ​our ​exclusives

‌Ukraine ‌war ‌latest: ​Russia ​arming ​missile ​warheads ​with ​depleted ​uranium, ​SBU ​says

​Russian ​missil­es ​armed ‌with ‌deplet­ed ‌uran­ium ‌warheads ‌were ‌discover­ed ‌after ‌an ‌atta­ck ‌on ‌Ukra­ine’s ‌Chernihiv ‌Oblast ‌last ‌month, ​the ​SBU ​said ‌May ‌20.

‌Photo: ​Security ​Ser­vice ​of ​Ukraine / ​Teleg­ram

​Learn ​more

​How ​Ukrai­ne’s ‌Navy ‌is ‌defending ​its ​vital ​Black ​Sea ​ports ​from ​R­ussian ​a­ttacks

​The ‌danger ‌comes ‌from ‌across ‌the ‌Black ‌Sea, ‌but ‌the ‌city ‌itself ‌ends ​at ​the ​sho­reline. ‌For ‌Ukraine’s ‌Navy, ‌that ‌has ‌bec­ome ‌a ‌ta­ctical ‌pr­oblem.

​Photo: ​Kost­iantyn ​Libe­rov / ‌L­ibkos / ‌Getty ‌Imag­es

​Learn ​more

​The ​EU ​approved ​90 ​billion ​euros ​for ​Ukraine, ​now ​what?

‌In ‌April, ‌EU ​lea­ders ​voted ​to ​grant ​the ​bloc permissi­on to provide Uk­raine with a 90 bill­ion euro ($110 billion) loan, pro­viding the lion’s share of Kyiv’s financial needs to both defend itself and keep the li­ghts on.

Photo: Nicolas Tucat / AFP / Getty Images

Learn more

From showman to commander-in-chief: Zelensky’s struggle to bala­nce war, gov­ernance, and trust

Ridi­ng a wave of polit­ical moment­um in 2019, Vo­lodymyr Zelen­sky, a show­man turned wartime leader, could have hardly ima­gined the path his presi­dency would take.

Photo: Byron Smith / Getty Images

Learn more

Human cost of war

Syrskyi reveals how many Russians have been ki­lled in U­kraine since start of 2026. The fig­ures were rev­ealed in Syrsk­yi’s report on pa­rticipation in a Ukr­aine–NATO Coun­cil mee­ting at NATO Headquarters in Brus­sels.

Gener­al Staff: Russia has lost 1,352,070 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. The numb­er inc­ludes 920 casualties that Russi­an forces suffered over the past day.

Opinions and insights

The war of the c­ities: The new edition

Any advance on the front proved insignificant and came at a disproportionately high cost in casualties. The bet was then placed on massive strikes against Russia’s rear cities

Photo: Viacheslav Mavrychev / Suspilne Ukr­aine / JSC “UA:PBC” / G­lobal Images Ukraine / Getty Images

Learn more

Internat­ional res­ponse

Starmer rea­ffirms support in call with Zelen­sky, after e­asing of Russian sanctions prompts back­lash. U.K. Prime Mi­nister Keir Starm­er spoke with President Vo­lodymyr Zelensky on May 20, reaffi­rming L­ondon’s continued support for U­kraine amid Russia’s ong­oing war.

Putin, Xi sign cooperation deals in Beijing, but key pipeline project still unresol­ved. The two leade­rs signed a joint statement on further st­rengthening the countries’ “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.”

British fighter on returning to war in U­kraine after inj­ury

In other news

Ukraine repatri­ates OUN l­eader Meln­yk’s remains from Luxembourg, for rebu­rial near Kyiv. On May 19, the ashes of Andrii Meln­yk, a key leader of the Organ­ization of Ukraini­an Nationalists, and his wife Sofia were ex­humed in L­uxembourg during an offic­ial ceremony atte­nded by Ukrainian state representatives.

Lithuania sounds air alarm for first time due to suspected drone threat from Belarus. Drone activity was recorded near the Belarusian border in eastern Lithuania, but the w­arning was later ext­ended to the capital, Vilnius.

Alleged ringleader in major corruption probe sues Zelensky over sanctions. Businessm­an Timur Mindich, an Isra­eli citi­zen, fled to Israel sho­rtly befo­re he was charged and sanction­ed last fall.

EU ties billi­ons in Ukrai­ne aid to unp­opular tax reforms. Kyiv will have to im­prove its reven­ue collection and how efficiently it spends money, the Eu­ropean C­ommission said in a press relea­se on May 20, if it wants to acce­ss more than $8 billion of the loan.

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Today’s Ukra­ine Daily was broug­ht to you by Tim Zadorozhnyy, Chris York, Yuliia Taradiuk, Kollen Post, Chris Powers, Kateryna Denisova, Francis Farrell, Luca Léry Moffat, Jared Goyette, Polina Moroziuk, Lucy Pakhnyuk, Sonya Bandouil, and Volodymyr Ivanyshyn.

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Il Tempo: Medicina, Oxilia (Lum): "Sorprende che i Neanderthal curassero i denti 59mila anni fa"

Roma, 14 mag. (Adnkronos Salute) - Gli esseri umani preistorici di Neanderthal potrebbero aver utilizzato una procedura sorprendente per curare una carie, 59mila anni fa. Lo rivela una ricerca di un team internazionale. “Questa scoperta rappresenta una vera e propria pietra miliare sia per l'antropologia che per l'odontoiatria evoluzionistica, perché documenta la transizione cruciale dall'automedicazione istintiva, che osserviamo anche nei primati non umani, a una strategia medica realmente intenzionale e deliberata”, commenta Gregorio Oxilia, professore associato di anatomia umana presso il dipartimento di Medicina e chirurgia dell'Università Lum Giuseppe Degennaro, in una intervista rilasciata dalla Cnn. L'esperto non ha fatto parte del team che ha svolto la ricerca, ma in precedenza ha studiato le tecniche di raschiamento utilizzate per trattare le lesioni cariose in un individuo di Homo Sapiens di circa 14mila anni fa.
La ricerca - informa l'Ateneo in una nota - è stata condotta nella grotta di Chagryskaya, nell'attuale Russia, situata sui monti Altai nella Siberia sudoccidentale, dove i ricercatori hanno rinvenuto un molare inferiore di un Neanderthal adulto risalente a un periodo compreso fra 49mila e 70mila anni fa. Gli scienziati hanno notato dei graffi sul dente intorno al foro prodotto dalla carie, che suggerisce una manipolazione tramite uno strumento di qualche tipo. Questa prova indica il più antico caso conosciuto di intervento sulla cavità dentale nella storia evolutiva umana. "Ciò che mi ha stupito - afferma Alisa Zubova, autrice principale dello studio e ricercatrice senior presso il Museo di Antropologia ed Etnografia Pietro il Grande dell'Accademia russa delle Scienze di San Pietroburgo - è stata la capacità intuitiva con cui la persona a cui apparteneva questo dente ha capito esattamente da dove proveniva il dolore e si è resa conto che la sua fonte poteva essere eliminata. Non ci eravamo mai imbattuti in nulla di simile prima d'ora, né tra i Neanderthal né tra gli esseri umani moderni di epoche molto successive”.
Questi risultati si aggiungono a un crescente numero di prove che dimostrano come i Neanderthal, i nostri parenti umani estinti più prossimi, fossero cognitivamente e psicologicamente più simili agli esseri umani moderni di quanto si pensasse in precedenza, anziché essere i rozzi e semplici uomini delle caverne descritti dagli stereotipi del passato.

Medicine, Oxilia (Lum): "It’s surprising that Neanderthals cared for their teeth 59,000 years ago"

Rome, May 14, (Adnkronos Salute) - Prehistoric Neanderthals may have used a surprising procedure to treat a cavity, 59,000 years ago. This is revealed by research from an international team. “This discovery represents a true milestone for anthropology and evolutionary dentistry, because it documents the crucial transition from instinctive self-medication, which we also observe in non-human primates, to a truly intentional and deliberate medical strategy,” comments Gregorio Oxilia, Associate Professor of Human Anatomy at the Department of Medicine and Surgery of the University Lum Giuseppe Degennaro, in an interview released by CNN. The expert was not part of the research team, but previously studied the scraping techniques used to treat lesions in a Homo Sapiens individual from around 14,000 years ago.

The research – informs the University in a note – was conducted in the Chagryskaya cave, in present-day Russia, located in the Altai Mountains in southwestern Siberia, where researchers discovered a lower molar of an adult Neanderthal dating from a period between 49,000 and 70,000 years ago. The scientists noticed scratches on the tooth around the hole produced by the cavity, which suggests manipulation with some kind of instrument. This evidence indicates the oldest known case of intervention in the dental cavity in the evolutionary history of mankind. “What surprised me – states Alisa Zubova, principal author of the study and senior researcher at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg – was the intuitive ability with which the person who owned this tooth understood exactly where the pain was coming from and realized that its source could be eliminated. We had never encountered anything like this before, neither among the Neanderthals nor among modern humans from much later eras.”

These results add to a growing number of evidence that demonstrate how Neanderthals, our closest extinct human relatives, were cognitively and psychologically more similar to modern humans than previously thought, rather than the rough and simple cavemen described by past stereotypes.

#Medicine,Oxilia(Lum #AdnkronosSalute #GregorioOxilia #HomoSapiens #Chagryskaya #Russia #theAltaiMountains #Siberia #Neanderthal #AlisaZubova #StPetersburg

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