You missed the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes will summarize for you every evening. Here is the essential information for Sunday, May 3, 2026, the 1,530th day of the conflict.
The news of the day Sweden announced on Sunday that it had seized a ship off its southern coast, suspected to belong to the Russian ghost fleet, the latest in a series of checks carried out by the Scandinavian country. The Russian ghost fleet refers to ships, often old and in poor condition, without adequate insurance and with opaque ownership, used by Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions. “This ship, named Jin Hui, is suspected of sailing under a false flag. Questions arise about its ability to take to the sea and its lack of insurance,” wrote Swedish Minister of Civil Defense, Carl-Oskar Bohlin. The ship Jin Hui is on the sanctions list of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine.
The number of the day Eight. Ukraine and Russia attacked each other this weekend using hundreds of explosive drones, resulting in at least eight deaths, while the Ukrainians claimed to have hit Russian ships. The Ukrainian air force announced that Russian forces had launched 268 drones – and fired a ballistic missile – from Saturday night to Sunday against Ukraine. In Moscow, the Ministry of Defense asserted that 334 drones had targeted Russia.
Kiev stated that this was a response to Russian bombardments on Ukrainian cities. Both parties, who daily use attack drones, consistently deny targeting civilians.
Quote of the day “Russia can end its war at any time. Prolonging it will only expand the scope of our defense operations.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised on Sunday to intensify Kiev’s retaliatory strikes against Russian energy sites if Moscow does not end its invasion.
Trend of the day Saudi Arabia, Russia, and five other OPEC+ countries raised their oil production quotas on Sunday, as planned, to demonstrate group continuity after the departure of the United Arab Emirates. Russia, the group’s second-largest producer, benefits the most as energy prices remain high, but struggles to meet its current quotas. Western disinvestment in its oil industry since the start of the war triggered by its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, along with regular drone strikes, have hampered production.
