Germany’s Friedrich Merz Calls for ‘Associate’ E.U. Membership for Ukraine

"German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed granting

Ukraine an unprecedented “Associate
Member” position within the European Union — which would bring Kyiv closer to the 27-country bloc as it continues its years-long pursuit towards attaining full membership status." Breitbart

After Trump, Putin goes to Beijing — and leaves empty-handed

"Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Beijing to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping, just days after Donald Trump did the same.

Although Putin's visit had been scheduled well in advance, the timing alongside U.S.-China talks has heightened the significance of the trip. Russia analysts expect progress toward expanding the Power of Siberia pipeline, a deal the Kremlin has long pushed for.
Despite that, not much had come out of the talks.
Putin and Xi signed a joint declaration, where they committed to "continue deepening comprehensive relations." And that was about it." KI

5.9 Earthquake - 113 km ESE of Bitung, Indonesia

"A strong magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurred in the Maluku Sea near Pulau Mayu island,

Indonesia, at 01:05 GMT. The quake had a shallow depth of 35 km (22 mi) and was felt by many near the epicenter. The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would." VD

253 combat clashes on front line

"There were 253 combat engagements between Ukrainian Defense Forces and Russian troops over the past 24 hours.
In the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk sectors, Russian forces launched three air strikes using seven guided aerial bombs and carried out 80 shelling attacks, including two with MLRS. Two assault actions were recorded.
In the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector, Russian troops launched 10 attacks near Lyman, Vilcha, Synelnykove, Vovchanski Khutory, and toward Izbytske.

In the Kupiansk sector, six attacks were recorded toward Kurylivka, Kivsharivka, Novoplatonivka, Novoosynove, and Hlushkivka.
In the Lyman sector, Russian forces attempted to break through Ukrainian defenses seven times near Zarichne, Serednie, and toward Lyman and Shyikivka.
In the Sloviansk sector, four assaults were reported toward Rai-Oleksandrivka, Piskunivka, and near Riznykivka.
In the Kramatorsk sector, Russian forces attacked near Minkivka.
In the Kostiantynivka sector, 25 assaults were recorded near Ivanopillia, Illinivka, Pleshchiivka, Vilne, Toretske, Rusyn Yar, Stepanivka, and toward Kostiantynivka and Zolotyi Kolodiaz.
In the Pokrovsk sector, Ukrainian forces repelled 52 assaults toward Zatyshok, Nikanorivka, Rodynske, Novooleksandrivka, Hryshyne, Kotlyne, Kamianka, Serhiivka, Udachne, Molodetske, Novopavlivka, Novopidhorodnie, Bilytske, Shevchenko, and Myrne.
In the Oleksandrivka sector, Russian troops attacked seven times near Ternove and toward Verbove, Dobropillia, and Kalynivske.
In the Huliaipole sector, Russian forces launched 28 assaults toward Nove Zaporizhzhia, Dobropillia, Rybne, Zlahoda, Zaliznychne, Tsvitkove, Vozdvyzhivka, Verkhnia Terza, Staroukrainka, Huliaipilske, and Charivne.
In the Orikhiv sector, Ukrainian defenders stopped one Russian attempt to advance near Shcherbaky.
In the Prydniprovske sector, Russian forces carried out three assaults toward the Antonivskyi Bridge area." Ukrin

Norway Wants To Lead A "Viking Bloc" For Containing Russia In Northern Europe

"Russian Ambassador to Norway Nikolai Korchunov gave a brief interview to TASS about bilateral relations. He warned that Norway is integrating new NATO members Sweden and Finland into the bloc’s regional plans. More American military bases and NATO facilities are

opening up there too. To make matters worse, 32,500 troops from 14 NATO countries in last March’s “Cold Response” military drills in Norway and Finland’s northern regions, which add to growing NATO threats to Russia from this direction.
NATO’s militarization of the Arctic, which also includes artificially engineered tensions over the demilitarized Svalbard Archipelago, is proceeding in parallel with its militarization of the Baltic.
Korchunov believes that this raises the risk of the bloc one day attempting to blockade Russia. He reassured his compatriots that the authorities will defend their country’s interests, however, including through military-technical means in an allusion to new naval escorts of some commercial vessels." ZeroHedge

Ukraine's air defenses down 109 of 116 Russian drones in overnight attack

"Ukraine's air defense forces neutralized 109 out of 116 drones launched by Russian forces in an overnight attack that began on the evening.

Russia attacked Ukraine with an Iskander-M ballistic missile launched from the Rostov region, as well as 116 drones, including jet-powered Shahed UAVs, Gerbera and Italmas drones, and Parodiya decoy drones.
The UAVs were launched from Kursk, Bryansk, Oryol, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, and Hvardiiske in temporarily occupied Crimea.
The aerial assault was repelled by Ukraine's aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare, unmanned systems units, and mobile fire teams." KI

Fire breaks out at Russia's Syzran oil refinery after drone attack

"A fire broke out at the Syzran oil refinery in Russia's Samara region following a drone attack.
After analyzing videos posted by eyewitnesses, Astra confirmed that the drone strike had sparked a fire at the refinery in the city of Syzran in Russia's Samara region." KI

6.6 Earthquake - Southern East Pacific Rise on Wednesday

"A very strong magnitude 6.6 earthquake occurred in the South Pacific Ocean near the coast of n/a in the morning at 9.43 am local time (GMT -8). The depth of the quake could not be determined, but is assumed to be shallow. The quake was not felt (or at least not reported so)." VD

233 combat clashes on front line

"233 combat engagements took place between the Ukrainian Defense Forces and Russian troops.
In the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk directions, six combat engagements took place. Russian forces carried out two airstrikes using seven guided bombs and launched 73 shelling attacks on Ukrainian positions and settlements, including four using MLRS systems.
In the Southern Slobozhanshchyna direction, Russian troops attacked Ukrainian positions five times toward Izbytske and near Starytsia and Lyman.

In the Kupiansk direction, the enemy attacked seven times toward Kupiansk, Petropavlivka, Hlushkivka, and Novoosynove.
In the Lyman direction, Russian troops attempted 13 times to break through Ukrainian defenses near Drobysheve, Dibrova, Ozerne, Stavky, Lyman, and Yampil.
In the Sloviansk direction, Russian forces launched five assaults near Zakitne and Rai-Oleksandrivka.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the enemy carried out one assault action near Minkivka.
In the Kostiantynivka direction, Russian invaders conducted 27 attacks toward Kostiantynivka, Illinivka, Ivanopillia, Pleshchiivka, Toretske, Novopavlivka, Sofiivka, Vilne, Bilytske, and Kucheriv Yar.
In the Pokrovsk direction, Ukrainian defenders stopped 35 Russian assault actions near Rodynske, Hryshyne, Novooleksandrivka, Pokrovsk, Zatyshok, Nykanorivka, Shevchenko, Vasylivka, Kotlyne, Udachne, and Molodetske.
In the Oleksandrivka direction, the enemy attacked five times near Oleksandrohrad, Ivanivka, and Kalynivske.
In the Huliaipole direction, Russian invaders carried out 29 attacks toward Nove Zaporizhzhia, Vozdvyzhivka, Tsvitkove, Staroukrainka, Dobropillia, Zaliznychne, Huliaipilske, Olenokostiantynivka, and Charivne.
In the Orikhiv direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled two attempts by Russian troops to advance near Shcherbaky and Stepnohirsk." Ukrin

Russians attack Konotop overnight

"During the night of May 20, the Russian army carried out a massive attack on Konotop in Sumy Region. Residential buildings and the local history museum came under fire. Preliminary reports indicate that eight people were injured." Ukrin

5.9 Earthquake - 18 km east of China, Kagoshima-ken, Japan

"A strong magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit 17.7 km (11 mi) away from China, Kagoshima-ken, Japan, in the morning at 11.46 am local time (GMT +9). The quake had a shallow depth of 42 km (26 mi) and was felt over a large region. The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicenter than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would." VD

250 combat engagements on front line

"Ukrainian Defense Forces and Russian troops engaged in 250 clashes during the previous day, with 43 occurring in the Pokrovsk direction.
In the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk sectors, five combat engagements took place over the past day. The enemy carried out 86 attacks on Ukrainian military positions and populated areas, including two using multiple launch rocket systems.
In the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector, the enemy launched 11 assaults on Ukrainian positions near the settlements of Izbytske, Hraniv, Lyman, Radkivka, Vilcha, Vovchanski Khutory, and Starytsia.

In the Kupiansk sector, Ukrainian defenders repelled one enemy attack near Novoplatonivka.
In the Lyman sector, Ukrainian troops repelled 11 attempts by Russian forces to advance near Drobysheve, Kopanky, Ozerne, and Dibrova.
In the Sloviansk sector, Ukrainian defenders stopped four enemy attempts to advance near Riznykivka, Kryva Luka, and Rai-Oleksandrivka.
In the Kramatorsk sector, Russian forces did not conduct active operations over the past day.
In the Kostiantynivka sector, the enemy carried out 14 attacks near Kostiantynivka, Pleshchiivka, Illinivka, and Dovha Balka.
In the Pokrovsk sector, Ukrainian defenders stopped 43 assault actions by the aggressor near the settlements of Dorozhne, Rodynske, Oleksandrivka, Pokrovsk, Hryshyne, Kotlyne, Novopavlivka, Novooleksandrivka, Udachne, Molodetske, and toward the settlements of Kucheriv Yar, Vilne, Serhiivka, and Hruzke.
In the Oleksandrivka sector, the enemy attacked twice near Oleksandrohrad and Berezove.
In the Huliaipole sector, 23 enemy attacks took place near Rivnopillia, Radisne, Rybne, Dobropillia, Olenokostiantynivka, Nove Zaporizhzhia, Staroukrainka, Tsvitkove, and Charivne.
In the Orikhiv sector, the enemy attempted to advance near Bilohiria.
In the Prydniprovske sector, Ukrainian units stopped two enemy attacks toward the Antonivskyi Bridge and Bilohrudyi Island." Ukrin

Russian overnight attack damages 25 homes in Kharkiv

"Russia launched overnight strikes across southern and eastern Ukraine early on May 19,

hitting infrastructure and residential areas in Odesa Oblast and Kharkiv, according to local authorities.
In Kharkiv, Russian drone strikes hit the Novobavarskyi district, injuring three people and damaging at least 25 private homes and one apartment building, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
The damage was caused by two waves of strikes, according to local officials. Rescue teams pulled two people from the rubble, while another person was believed to be trapped as search-and-rescue operations continued.
Separately, in the Izmail district of Odesa Oblast, port infrastructure facilities were damaged in a nighttime strike, the local administration said. Most aerial targets were intercepted over open territory, outside of populated areas." KI

Iran wants to hand over nuclear stockpile to Russia

"Iran

is allegedly ready to hand over its highly enriched uranium stockpile to Russia, the Saudi
news broadcaster Al Hadath has reported. The idea was floated as part of the latest peace proposal Tehran sent to the US via Pakistan, the outlet said on Monday, citing a leaked document it had obtained." RT

5.3 Earthquake - South Atlantic Ocean, 300 km west of Bouvetoya Island, Bouvet Island

"A strong magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurred in the South Atlantic Ocean 299 km (186 mi)
from Bouvet Island in the late afternoon at 6.50 pm local time (GMT +0). The depth of the quake could not be determined, but is assumed to be shallow. The quake was not felt (or at least not reported so)." VD