NATO Ministers Meet as U.S. Weighs Shift in Ukraine Weapons Policy
Foreign ministers from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries begin a two-day informal meeting in Prague today, where they are expected to discuss support for Ukraine and other issues (Anadolu)
Separately, Blinken said yesterday that Washington will continue to “adapt and adjust” its policies after repeated calls by Ukraine for approval to use U.S.-made weapons to strike targets inside Russia (NYT)
Sweden to Provide Two Surveillance Planes in $1.3 Billion Military Aid Package to Ukraine
The planes are expected to be deployed alongside F-16 fighter jets provided by other European countries (Bloomberg)
Meanwhile, the U.S. Defense Department is readying its first new major arms plant since Russia invaded Ukraine; the Texas plant will soon produce around thirty thousand steel shells every month for howitzers that are crucial to Ukraine’s defense effort, the New York Times reported
Belgium, Spain Pledge Billions for Ukraine
Belgium pledged to send more than $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine this year, following a Spanish pledge yesterday of over $1 billion in aid in 2024 and more than $5 billion by 2027 (AP)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) chief Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday that too many restrictions on how Ukraine can use the weapons that it’s given “are tying one hand of the Ukrainian armed forces on their back” (Euronews)
Another Senior Russian Military Official Is Detained on Corruption Charges
Authorities arrested Lieutenant General Vadim Shamarin, the deputy to the army’s head of general staff, as part of a probe into alleged bribes, Russian state media reported; he is the fourth high-ranking military official to be detained in the past month (Politico)
EU Agrees to Use Profits From Frozen Russian Assets to Arm Ukraine
The European Union (EU) formal decision regarding windfall profits from Russia’s frozen assets is expected to yield around $3 billion in the first year of the plan’s operations; it will use 90 percent of the profits generated to buy weapons and ammunition and the remaining 10 percent for nonlethal aid (WaPo)
While some Western countries, such as the United States, have also supported confiscating Russian assets for use to support Ukraine, others in Europe said this could bring long-term financial stability risks (NYT)
Additionally, U.S. officials have proposed that Group of Seven (G7) nations could use future profits from frozen assets to issue loans to Ukraine (Reuters)
The EU funding deal came as Russia began drills involving the potential use of battlefield nuclear weapons in an apparent reaction to Western countries discussing the possibility of deploying forces in Ukraine (AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking to the New York Times in an interview, proposed that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries shoot down Russian missiles over Ukrainian airspace and said he had appealed to U.S. officials for approval to be able to aim U.S.-supplied weaponry at military targets inside Russia (NYT)
NATO Weighs Sending Trainers to Ukraine in Future, U.S. Joint Chiefs Chair Says
A North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) deployment of trainers to Ukraine could occur “eventually, over time,” U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Charles Brown Jr. said yesterday; Brown said that for now, such an effort inside Ukraine would put “a bunch of NATO trainers at risk” (NYT)
Ukrainian officials have asked NATO members to help them train recruits amid a shortage (Politico)
The White House has previously been steadfast against sending U.S. troops to Ukraine, but French President Emmanuel Macron said in February that “nothing should be ruled out” when it comes to sending Western forces (Al Jazeera)
Russia’s Putin, China’s Xi Pledge to Deepen Ties at Two-Day Meeting in Beijing
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for both countries to “cherish and nurture” their “hard-earned” partnership during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing that began today (Reuters)
The two leaders signed a pledge to deepen strategic relations and are discussing the war in Ukraine, bilateral military and economic ties, and nuclear and energy cooperation; Russia has become increasingly economically dependent on China during the war, while Washington has pressed Beijing to avoid supplying Moscow’s defense sector through sanctions and diplomatic appeals (FT)
Blinken Visits Kyiv to Underscore U.S. Support for Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Kyiv today is the first by a U.S. official since Washington passed a bill providing Ukraine with an additional nearly $61 billion in aid last month; Blinken said he understood it was a challenging time, but that the United States was determined to help Ukraine hold its own, and that the aid was going to “make a real difference” on the battlefield (CNN)
Meanwhile, Russian authorities arrested high-ranking Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov “on suspicion of criminal activity,” state media reported; his detention comes after President Vladimir Putin’s replacement of Russia’s defense minister on Sunday and the April arrest of another high-ranking official in a corruption probe (Politico)
Putin Replaces Long-Serving Defense Minister With Economist
Russian President Vladimir Putin reshuffled his national security team yesterday in a surprise move, replacing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu with economic advisor Andrei Belousov (NYT)
Shoigu had led Russia’s defense ministry since 2012 and will now instead become the head of Russia’s security council; its former leader, Nikolai Patrushev, is expected to take an unspecified new post to be announced in the coming days (AP)
Belousov is known as a technocrat and has long advocated for greater state control of the Russian economy (FT)
The shake-up at the top of Russia’s leadership comes amid its battlefield push to take over villages and settlements in the northeastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine; nearly six thousand Ukrainians have evacuated from areas under Russian attack, a regional official said, while Ukraine is deploying troops to stabilize its front line in the area (Bloomberg)
Russian Troops Attack Near Kharkiv, Ukraine Strikes Refinery Deep Within Russia
Russian forces used artillery and aerial bombs to attack the town of Vovchansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region overnight; analysts have said that Russia likely cannot capture Kharkiv but could force Ukraine to send more fighters to the region, leaving other areas more vulnerable for attack (AP)
The strike came after a Ukrainian drone hit an oil refinery in Russia more than seven hundred miles from the Ukrainian border yesterday (NYT)
India, Sri Lanka Detain People Suspected of Recruiting for Russia’s War in Ukraine
Sri Lanka arrested two former soldiers accused of recruiting fighters for Russia, local site Newswire reported today; their detention comes a day after India made four arrests in a similar case (Anadolu)
Preliminary EU Deal Would Use Windfall Profits From Frozen Russian Assets to Arm Kyiv
Ambassadors from EU countries reached the preliminary agreement yesterday regarding the hundreds of billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets; it is subject to approval by finance ministers next Tuesday (BBC)
The decision came as Russia’s largest air strike on Ukraine in weeks hit nearly a dozen Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities yesterday (Reuters)
Russia, Ukraine Exchange Accusations of Chemical Weapons Use
Russia and Ukraine traded allegations blaming the other for using toxic chemical weapons on the battlefield, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Tuesday; however, neither have called on the OPCW to investigate the accusations which the organization indicated were “insufficiently substantiated” (Reuters)
Ukraine Foiled Russian Plan to Assassinate Zelenskyy, Security Services Say
Security services arrested two Ukrainian colonels suspected of involvement in a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top military and political figures, Kyiv’s domestic intelligence agency said yesterday (NYT)
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said today that he had no comment on the assertion, but that it was unlikely to be accurate (Reuters)
Western Countries Boycott Putin’s Inauguration for Fifth Term
Russian President Vladimir Putin took his oath of office in Moscow today at a ceremony skipped by representatives from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and most European Union members (RFE/RL)
He begins his fifth term with almost no domestic opposition after critics were jailed and banned (AP)
Russia Bombs a Village in Kharkiv Oblast, Kills One
Russian forces used a FAB-1500 bomb weighing 1.5 tons, marking the first time since the invasion that such a weapon was used (Kyiv Independent)
U.S. Soldier Faces Criminal Charges in Russia
A U.S. soldier was detained in Russia last week on criminal charges and is receiving consular assistance, a U.S. army spokesperson said yesterday; National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby reiterated a previous warning against U.S. citizens traveling to Russia (CNN)
Russia Announces It Will Carry Out Tactical Nuclear Weapons Drills
The drills with troops based near Ukraine will practice for the possible use of battlefield nuclear weapons, Russia’s defense ministry said today (NYT)
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said they are in response to French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirming previous comments that he would not rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine; Peskov also alluded to British Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s comment that Ukraine was free to use British weapons to strike inside Russia (Politico)
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence service said that “nuclear blackmail is a constant practice of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s regime”(Reuters)
Today’s announcement is the first time Moscow has publicly declared drills regarding tactical nuclear weapons, the Associate Press reported (AP)
Russian Gas Giant Reports Biggest Loss in More Than Twenty-Five Years
The majority state-owned company Gazprom reported a loss of $6.9 billion last year due to plunging sales to Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; sales to Europe were once the core of Gazprom’s business, but they have since more than halved (FT)
Washington Says Russia Used Banned Chemical Weapons in Ukraine
Russian forces used the poison gas chloropicrin in Ukraine in a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the United States announced yesterday (Reuters)
The U.S. State Department detailed its claims in an announcement that it was placing nearly three hundred individuals or entities under new sanctions for supporting Russia’s war effort and internal repression (State)
Russia’s ambassador to the United States called the U.S. claim “odious and unsubstantiated,” while Ukrainian authorities have reported some 1,400 cases of suspected chemical weapons use since Russia invaded in February 2022 (NYT)
The State Department said Russia’s use of tear gas in wartime also violated the chemical weapons ban (France24)
The new U.S. sanctions included targets across the world, including more than a dozen firms in China that Washington said were helping to build up Russia’s industrial base (NYT)
Russia Carries Out Second Deadly Strike on Odesa in a Week
A Russian missile attack killed at least three people and wounded another three overnight, officials said; the strike followed an attack on Monday that killed at least five people and wounded around thirty others, officials said (NYT)
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone strike overnight sparked a fire at Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery, Russian media outlet Baza reported (DW)
Ukrainian Forces Retreat From Three Villages on Front Lines in Donetsk
Russia is trying to break through Ukrainian defensive lines before new assistance from the United States arrives (NBC)
Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Offers Resignation Amid Corruption Probe
Ukraine’s anticorruption bureau is investigating Minister Mykola Solskyi on charges of illegally acquiring some $7 million worth of land; he was detained today before posting bail (RFE/RL)
Washington Expedites $1 Billion in Weapons to Ukraine After Approving New Aid
U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package yesterday that included nearly $61 billion in military support for Ukraine; the move triggered the immediate delivery of weapons such as air-defense interceptors and artillery (FT)
Separately, unnamed Pentagon officials told reporters yesterday that Ukraine has already received and used U.S.-supplied long-range ballistic missiles for the first time, relying on them recently to attack a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and another Russia-occupied city overnight; the aid package comes as Ukraine aims to claw back against Russian forces along an entrenched line of conflict (WaPo; AP)
The $1 billion aid package also includes anti-ship missiles, Bradley fighting vehicles, and Humvees (Politico)
Russian Authorities Detain Deputy Defense Minister in Bribery Probe
Timur Ivanov appeared in a Moscow court today as he is suspected of accepting a bribe of more than $10,000, Russian state media TASS reported; the case is the highest-profile corruption scandal since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 (CNN)