Ukraine's Eurovision triumph, over 200 downed Russian planes: last night's highlights

The Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra won the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down the two hundred first enemy aircraft. Here is what you may have missed from the previous night.

Eurovision victory

The Kalush Orchestra won the Eurovision 2022 final. This is the third victory of Ukraine in this competition — after Ruslana in 2004 and Jamala in 2016. After their performance, the band appealed to the world to save the defenders of Mariupol from Azovstal.

The second place was United Kingdom's with 466 points, Spain came third with 459 points.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has already stated that Ukraine will do everything to host the Eurovision Song Contest in the rebuilt Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

World leaders have congratulated Ukraine on winning the song contest. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen were among them.

Turkey wants talks

Turkey says it is not closing the door on Sweden and Finland joining NATO, but wants talks with those northern countries on organizations that Ankara sees as a terrorist threat.

The country insists that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) raises funds and recruits in Europe, and that its presence is "strong, open and recognized", particularly in Sweden. Therefore, he calls the solution "clear" — to stop allowing the existence of the PKK and its activities.

"Of course, we want to have a discussion, talks with Swedish colleagues," said Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

A new offensive in the Luhansk region

The Russian occupiers are once again preparing to cross the Siversky Donets River in Bilohorivka, Luhansk region, carrying 2,500 units of heavy equipment there, says regional governor Serhiy Haidai. Earlier, the Armed Forces had already thwarted similar attempts by the occupiers a dozen times, destroying enemy pontoon bridges along with equipment and soldiers.

Over two hundred downed planes

On May 14, Ukraine's anti-aircraft missile forces shot down the 201st Russian plane at about 6 p.m.

Prison for their own

In the town of Kamyanka in the Zaporizhzhya region, the occupiers set up a prison where they keep their own soldiers who refuse to fight.

"The Russians have turned the school premises into a prison where they keep their servicemen who refuse to fight. In a former chicken coop near the village, the Russians are burning their own soldiers, who died on the battlefield," the statement said.