You missed the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes summarizes for you every night. Here is the essential of this Wednesday, May 20, 2026, the 1,547th day of the conflict.
Fact of the day
The President of Lithuania and his Prime Minister were taken to shelters, and the residents of Vilnius, the capital, received a safety alert by SMS. A brief drone alert caused panic this Wednesday in the small Baltic state. It is the first incident of this kind in a country which is a member of the EU and NATO. It is unclear whether the drone was Russian or Ukrainian, but drone-related incidents are increasing in the Baltic States. Kiev is targeting Russian entities in the Gulf of Finland, including ports and refineries, but drones can malfunction or be diverted by Russian air defenses and crash in the territory of these allied countries.
“If the drones come from Ukraine, it’s not because Ukraine wanted to send a drone to Latvia, Lithuania, or Estonia. They are there because of the large-scale, illegal, and irresponsible attack led by Russia,” said NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Quote of the day
“As Europeans, we are [obligated] to become a shield against monsters like Trump, Netanyahu, or the Russian. We are obliged because here, we respect international law.”
At the Cannes Film Festival, where he is competing for the Palme d’Or with “Autofiction,” Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar criticized warmongers. “An artist, from his small platform, must speak openly, he must speak with a bare face about the worst of what is happening to us, and every day terrible things happen to us,” he added.
Number of the day
3.2 billion euros. The amount of the first aid that the European Union plans to provide to Ukraine “around mid-June” as part of its massive 90 billion euro package. An agreement has been reached with Kiev detailing the terms of this financial aid, including the various conditions to be met to receive it. Kiev has committed to increasing its budget revenues by 6 billion euros this year.
Trend of the day
China’s “neutral” stance in the conflict may be a facade. The Chinese army reportedly secretly trained several hundred Russian soldiers on Chinese territory, some of whom were deployed in Ukraine, according to the German newspaper Die Welt, citing classified documents from European intelligence services.
At the end of 2025, several hundred Russian soldiers took part in training programs at six different military sites in China, focusing on “the use of unmanned systems, electronic countermeasures against drones, and modern combat simulations,” the newspaper reported.
The participants held different ranks and belonged to different units. Some were members of the Russian elite unit Rubicon specializing in drones. Following the training, dozens of them reportedly joined the fighting in Ukraine at the beginning of 2026, including in command positions, according to Die Welt.
