May 31, 2023 (Wednesday)

Russia says that it destroyed the Ukrainian Navy warship Yuri Olefirenko at the Port of Odesa in a missile strike on May 29.

Russian authorities say that a Ukrainian drone strike has caused a fire at an oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, and also caused damage in Shebekino, Belgorod Oblast.

According to Russian authorities, five people are killed and 19 others are injured by Ukrainian shelling in Karpaty, in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast.

NATO deploys a further 700 troops to North Kosovo to reinforce its KFOR peacekeeping mission amid clashes with Kosovo Serb protesters over the election and installation of ethnic Albanian mayors in several Serb-majority towns following a Serbian election boycott.

About 100 gunmen ambush a military escort of a food convoy in Tibou, killing two civilians. At least 50 of the attackers are killed in the ensuing gunfight with soldiers.

Five members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command are killed and ten others are injured in an explosion at a base in Qusaya, Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. The PFLP accuses the Israel Defense Forces of responsibility.

The tapes for a long lost, unreleased John Coltrane live album with Eric Dolphy are found at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes Kachin State, Myanmar, with damage reported.

A wildfire which had been burning for four days in the Scottish Highlands is brought under control after affecting about 30 sq mi (78 km²) of land, making it the largest ever recorded in the United Kingdom. ()

The United Arab Emirates confirms that it has withdrawn from the United States Navy-led Combined Task Force 150 mission in the Persian Gulf amid recent seizures of oil tankers by Iran.

The Kyrgyzstan Prosecutor-General's Office calls for lawmakers to allow the prosecution of United Kyrgyzstan opposition leader Adakhan Madumarov for alleged attempts to seize power.

Two people die and eight others are injured during an incident at a beach in Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom. A man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, according to Dorset Police.

The Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 bill passes the Australian House of Representatives, thereby allowing for a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament later this year.

Edgars Rinkēvičs is elected the 11th President of Latvia.

The launch of the North Korean spy satellite Malligyong-1 ends in failure due to a malfunction of the second stage of the rocket, causing the satellite to crash into the sea. An emergency evacuation alert was erroneously sent to residents of Seoul, South Korea, after the rocket launch, which also triggered air raid sirens in the city.

In a news release published by NASA, it is revealed that the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered traces of water on the exoplanet WASP-18b, which has a mass equal to 10 Jupiters.

In association football, Sevilla win a record-extending seventh UEFA Europa League title after defeating A.S. Roma 4–1 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in the 2023 UEFA Europa League final at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary.