Russia claimed to have captured Mariupol on Friday in what would be its biggest victory yet in its war with Ukraine, after a nearly three-month siege that reduced much of the strategic port city to a smoking ruin, with over 20,000 civilians feared dead.
The Group of Seven leading economies and global financial institutions are providing $19.8 billion in aid to bolster Ukraine’s public finances, Germany’s finance minister said on May 20.
Poland and Portugal are trying to figure out ways of bringing Ukraine into the European Union even if some countries in the bloc balk at granting it speedy access.
The U.S. is spanning a sea bridge over the Atlantic to support Ukraine with crucial equipment in its war against Russia, a senior official said, as a huge cargo ship at the Belgian port of Antwerp got ready to set sail for Germany.
Read more news on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis here.
Here are the latest updates:
Russia claims to have taken full control of Mariupol
Russia claimed to have captured Mariupol on Friday in what would be its biggest victory yet in its war with Ukraine, after a nearly three-month siege that reduced much of the strategic port city to a smoking ruin, with over 20,000 civilians feared dead.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin the "complete liberation" of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol — the last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance — and the city as a whole, spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
There was no immediate confirmation from Ukraine. - AP
China quietly increases purchases of low-priced Russian oil
China is quietly ramping up purchases of oil from Russia at bargain prices, according to shipping data and oil traders who spoke to Reuters, filling the vacuum left by Western buyers backing away from business with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February.
The move by the world's biggest oil importer comes a month after it initially cut back on Russian supplies, for fear of appearing to openly support Moscow and potentially expose its state oil giants to sanctions.
China's seaborne Russian oil imports will jump to a near-record 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, up from 750,000 bpd in the first quarter and 800,000 bpd in 2021, according to an estimate by Vortexa Analytics. - Reuters
Finland says Russia suspending natural gas supplies
Russia will cut off natural gas to Finland after the Nordic country that applied for NATO membership this week refused President Vladimir Putin's demand to pay in rubles, the Finnish state-owned energy company said on Friday, the latest escalation over European energy amid the war in Ukraine.
Finland is the latest country to be cut off from an energy supply that is used to generate electricity and power industry after refusing Russia's decree.
Poland and Bulgaria were cut off late last month but had prepared for the loss of gas or are getting supplies from other countries. - AP
U. S. Embassy welcomes plan to name Moscow square 'Defenders of Donbas'
The U. S. Embassy in Moscow said on May 20 that it was surprised but not offended by a proposal to name a nearby intersection ‘Defenders of Donbas Square’, suggesting disingenuously that it was to honour Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russian aggression.
The Moscow city assembly said on Wednesday that its members were considering naming the intersection after soldiers fighting against alleged "Nazism" in the largely Russian-speaking Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. - Reuters
Russia says 'nearing' full control of Ukraine's Lugansk
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday Moscow was nearing full control of Ukraine's eastern separatist region of Lugansk.
"The liberation of the Lugansk People's Republic is nearing completion," Shoigu said at a televised ministry meeting.
Separately, Mr. Shoigu said 1,908 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steelworks in the port city of Mariupol. - AFP
