The U.S. Treasury and State Departments have quietly urged large banks, including JPMorgan and Citigroup, to keep doing business with some strategic Russian firms, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
According to Bloomberg, the effort signals the Biden administration is looking to strike a balance between hindering Russia's invasion of Ukraine and avoiding adverse impacts of sanctions designed to punish Russia for the war.
The two leaders signed a joint statement on further strengthening the countries' "comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation."
A Russian attack on the city of Konotop in Sumy Oblast struck a multi-story building, killing a woman and injuring at least 11 people, regional Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported.
Ukrainian drones reportedly struck both a Russian oil refinery and a chemical production facility overnight on May 20, Russian Telegram media channels reported — marking the second reported hit on each site within a week.
The number includes 920 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
The Moscow Oil Refinery temporarily halted its processing operations following a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on May 17, Reuters reported, citing industry sources.
"I'm not going to make pre-commitments in a negotiation on any particular topic," Vance said, though he maintained the proposal was "not currently" part of the plan.
Short-range drones killed and injured more Ukrainian civilians in April 2026 than in any other month since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
*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.
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