News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe

The first license permits imports of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian oil if "the products have been processed in a third country," while the other allows the maritime transport of Russian LNG.

*Russia hits Ukraine's Chernihiv, Sumy oblasts in morning attacks, killing 5*Ukraine says it struck major Russian oil refinery, pumping station*China secretly trained Russian soldiers who later fought in Ukraine, Reuters reports*Russia launches large-scale nuclear forces drills after Belarus exercises *Russian military hospitals overwhelmed by wounded soldiers from war in Ukraine, media reportsT

The Czech Interior Ministry proposed a set of legal changes that could restrict the temporary protection benefits that have been in place for Ukrainian refugees since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

MEPs in Brussels agreed on May 19 to slash the EU’s tariff-free steel imports to 18.3 million metric tons per year — a 47% reduction from what is currently allowed — starting in July 2026.

Russian military hospitals are struggling to cope with the number of soldiers wounded in the war against Ukraine, forcing authorities to repurpose civilian hospitals, maternity wards, and other medical facilities for military use.

Renat Suleimanov, a State Duma deputy from the Communist Party (KPRF), said in an interview with Russian outlet Kontinent Sibir that Russia needs the "swiftest possible end" to what Moscow calls its "special military operation," the Kremlin's term for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine's economy improved in April, driven partly by the defense industry, softening what had been expected to be a sharper slowdown in early 2026 after the country's toughest winter of the full-scale invasion, the prime minister said.

The drills, scheduled to run through May 21, involve Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Pacific fleets, long-range aviation command, and units from the Leningrad and Central military districts, the ministry said.

The Kyiv Independent has launched its largest and most ambitious membership campaign to date, seeking 4,000 new members from across the world to support its independent journalism from Ukraine.

China's armed forces secretly trained around 200 Russian military personnel in China in late 2025, with some later returning to fight in Ukraine, Reuters reported on May 19, citing three European intelligence agencies and documents seen by the agency.

Ukraine's top anti-corruption agencies say they have widened a sweeping bribery investigation tied to the former chairman of the Supreme Court, alleging that several senior judges accepted illicit payments in exchange for a ruling favoring a powerful businessman.