May 20, 2026 - Daily News Digest

On this day: in 1498, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovers the sea route to India when he arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.

QOTD: “"It must be made clear that none of the EU Member States can be threatened," the lawmakers said, adding that von der Leyen and Kallas should "demand that Russia stop these provocative actions immediately."

UK/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS - UK Apologizes for ‘Clumsy’ Handling of Russian Sanctions Easing
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-20/uk-apologizes-for-clumsy-handling-of-russian-sanctions-easing

The UK government apologized for its decision to loosen sanctions on Russia, which was intended to prevent diesel and jet fuel shortages.

Trade minister Chris Bryant told Parliament that the move, which followed a similar step by the Trump administration, was handled “clumsily” and that the license will be suspended at the earliest possible point. The government late Tuesday released the announcement on its website, instead of communicating why they had made the decision. After Bloomberg reported it, Prime Minister Keir Starmer was forced address a barrage of criticism over the move.

“We’ve handled this clumsily and that’s entirely my fault and I apologize: we’ve ended up giving the wrong impression of what we’re trying to do,” Bryant said, pointing to the leadership the UK has so far shown on sanctions against Russia.

The loosening of sanctions sparked a backlash both within the UK and from Ukraine over a decision which is seen to prioritize the government’s desire to reduce the cost-of-living burden on Britons over the need to squeeze Russia’s wartime economy. It also marks a break between the UK and European Union, which often coordinate their sanctions, because the EU is not currently planning a similar measure.

US/EUROPE/MIL - Pentagon says U.S. will cut thousands of troops from Europe
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/05/20/pentagon-says-us-will-cut-thousands-troops-europe/

The Pentagon announced late Tuesday that it was pausing the deployment of any additional troops to NATO ally Poland as the Trump administration moves forward with its “America First” agenda and pulls thousands of forces from Europe.

The pause is part of a reduction of U.S. forces in Europe from four brigade combat teams to three, units that each include as many as 4,000 soldiers, tanks and massive amounts of support gear.

President Donald Trump has long pushed European countries to assume a bigger role in their collective defense, but in recent weeks he has seethed at what he sees as a lack of support among core NATO allies for the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

MORE: Poland says US troop deployment delayed, not canceled
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-will-temporarily-delay-troops-deployment-poland-polish-minister-says-2026-05-20/

Poland's defence minister said no decisions have been made to reduce the number ​of American troops in the country and recent U.S. ‌moves may only temporarily delay their deployment, after meeting U.S. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Christopher Mahoney.

Vice President JD Vance told reporters on ​Tuesday a U.S. troop deployment to Poland had been delayed, but ​that it was not accurate to say the troops were ⁠being withdrawn from Europe.

Poland was earlier alarmed by reports the Pentagon ​had canceled plans to deploy 4,000 U.S troops in the country. Officials ​tried to reassure Poles that this was not the case.

"Decisions that are made in the U.S. and their consequences may temporarily delay the deployment of U.S. ​forces to Poland, which is exactly what we said--that there was ​no decision to reduce them, only a temporary suspension," Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters after ‌meeting ⁠Mahoney.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon said it would withdraw 5,000 troops from NATO ally Germany, in part due to a widening rift between U.S. President Donald Trump and Europe linked to the Iran conflict.

CHINA/RUSSIA/UKRAINE/MIL - Exclusive: Russians covertly trained by China return to fight in Ukraine, sources say
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russians-covertly-trained-by-china-return-fight-ukraine-sources-say-2026-05-19/

China's armed forces secretly trained about 200 Russian military personnel in China late last year and some have since returned to fight in Ukraine, according to three European intelligence agencies and documents seen by Reuters.

While China and Russia have held a number of joint military exercises since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Beijing has repeatedly stated that it is neutral ​in the conflict and presents itself as a peace mediator.

The covert training sessions, which predominantly focused on the use of drones, were outlined in a dual-language Russian-Chinese agreement signed by senior Russian and Chinese officers in Beijing on July 2, 2025.

The agreement, ‌reviewed by Reuters, said about 200 Russian troops would be trained at military facilities in locations including Beijing and the eastern city of Nanjing. The sources said around this number subsequently trained in China.

The agreement also said hundreds of Chinese troops would undergo training at military facilities in Russia.

By training Russian military personnel at an operational and tactical level who then participate in Ukraine, China is far more directly involved in the war on the European continent than previously known, one intelligence official said.

US/SPAIN/POL - US Homeland Security says it assisted Spain in probe of former PM Zapatero
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-homeland-security-says-it-assisted-spain-probe-former-pm-zapatero-2026-05-20/

The United States' Department of Homeland Security assisted Spanish police in a money-laundering probe that ​led to an investigation by Spain's High Court of former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, ‌a DHS spokesperson said.

The Spanish court said on Tuesday that Zapatero was being investigated for allegedly leading an influence-peddling and money-laundering network, in another blow to the leftist government beset by corruption scandals.

It said the network profited from lobbying public authorities on behalf of third parties - ​mainly Spanish airline Plus Ultra, which was bailed out by the state in 2021.

Zapatero, a key ally ​of current Prime Minister and fellow Socialist Pedro Sanchez and who led Spain from 2004 ⁠to 2011, denied any wrongdoing on Tuesday.

The DHS spokesperson said the Madrid office of Homeland Security Investigations "assisted the ​Spanish National Police in an investigation into the laundering of international public funds" that led to the proceedings against ​Zapatero.

"While we cannot comment on the specifics of the criminal investigation at this time, HSI remains committed to working with its international partners to fight global crime, protect our communities, and uphold the rule of law," the spokesperson said, referring to Homeland Security Investigations' ​acronym.

NATO/RUSSIA/MIL - NATO’s Baltic flank rattled by drone incidents as VDL blames Russia
https://www.politico.eu/article/lithuania-air-alert-stray-drone-nato-eu-russia-tensions/

Lithuanian authorities issued an air alert on Wednesday morning after a stray drone was detected in the country's airspace.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense wrote on X that the unmanned vehicle was spotted near the border with Belarus and confirmed that NATO’s Baltic air-policing mission had been activated. In a statement to national broadcaster LRT, military authorities added that the incident was "similar to what we have been seeing in recent days in Latvia and Estonia."

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen accused Russia and Belarus of bearing "direct responsibility for drones endangering the lives and security of people" on Europe's Eastern flank. "A threat against one Member State is a threat against our entire Union," she wrote on X, adding that "Europe will respond with unity and strength."

RUSSIA/CHINA/US - Russia and China scold the United States over 'Golden Dome' plans
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-china-scold-united-states-over-golden-dome-plans-2026-05-20/

Russia and China said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's Golden Dome missile-defence shield plans threatened strategic stability and that Washington had been irresponsible not to ​work on a replacement for a landmark nuclear treaty.

The rebuke was issued ‌in a joint statement after President Xi Jinping welcomed President Vladimir Putin with an honour guard and a gun salute at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, as children waved Chinese and ​Russian flags.

The Golden Dome envisions expanding ground‑based defences such as interceptor missiles, sensors and ​command‑and‑control systems while adding space‑based elements meant to detect, track and potentially ⁠shoot down incoming threats from orbit. These would include advanced satellite networks and orbiting ​weapons.

"The parties believe that the U.S. 'Golden Dome' project, which aims to build an unlimited, multi-level, ​multi-sphere, and global missile defence system to destroy all types of missiles, including all types of 'peer adversaries' missiles, at all stages of their flight and before they are launched, poses an obvious threat to ​strategic stability," they said.

GIFT LINK: Early War Goal Was to Install Hard-Line Former President as Iran’s Leader
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/us/politics/iran-israel-us-leader-ahmadinejad.html?unlocked_article_code=1.j1A.kZ91.ZGM7PnnTDhut&smid=url-share

Days after Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and other top officials in the opening salvos of the war, President Trump mused publicly that it would be best if “someone from within” Iran took over the country.

It turns out that the United States and Israel went into the conflict with a particular and very surprising someone in mind: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president known for his hard-line, anti-Israel and anti-American views.

But the audacious plan, developed by the Israelis and which Mr. Ahmadinejad had been consulted about, quickly went awry, according to the U.S. officials who were briefed on it.

Mr. Ahmadinejad was injured on the war’s first day by an Israeli strike at his home in Tehran that had been designed to free him from house arrest, the American officials and an associate of Mr. Ahmadinejad said. He survived the strike, they said, but after the near miss he became disillusioned with the regime change plan.

He has not been seen publicly since then and his current whereabouts and condition are unknown.

To say that Mr. Ahmadinejad was an unusual choice would be a vast understatement. While he had increasingly clashed with the regime’s leaders and had been placed under close watch by the Iranian authorities, he was known during his term as president, from 2005 to 2013, for his calls to “wipe Israel off the map.” He was a strong supporter of Iran’s nuclear program, a fierce critic of the United States and known for violently cracking down on internal dissent.

How Mr. Ahmadinejad was recruited to take part remains unknown.