Trump Calls Putin Talk Positive as Russia Offers Iran Diplomacy
Trump described a “very good call” with Putin covering both Ukraine and the Middle East, claiming that Putin “wants to be helpful” on Iran while pressing him to end the Russia-Ukraine war first; Putin’s foreign policy aide separately said the Russian president had proposed a plan for a swift diplomatic resolution to the Iranian conflict (Reuters)
Zelenskyy and Dutch PM Expand Joint Arms Production Partnership
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten in Kyiv, where the two leaders discussed expanding joint weapons production and investment; Zelenskyy highlighted Ukraine’s firsthand experience countering Iranian-made drones deployed by Russia as a key asset in the partnership (Reuters)
Zelenskyy and Dutch PM Expand Joint Arms Production Partnership
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten in Kyiv, where the two leaders discussed expanding joint weapons production and investment; Zelenskyy highlighted Ukraine’s firsthand experience countering Iranian-made drones deployed by Russia as a key asset in the partnership (Reuters)
Russian Missiles Strike Residential Building in Kharkiv
Russian ballistic missiles struck a residential building in Kharkiv, killing at least ten people including children, in a barrage on energy sector and railway infrastructure across the country; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for an international response and urged partners to continue providing air defense and weapons (Reuters, BBC)
Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners of War
Russia and Ukraine completed a two-day operation to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war (500 from each country); Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the frontlines to deliver a speech and military awards to the returning Ukrainian soldiers (Reuters)
The next round of U.S.-brokered negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have been postponed due to the commencement of the U.S.-Iran war, according to Zelensky (Bloomberg)
Russian Attacks Target Railway Infrastructure
At least five people were injured after a Russian drone strike hit an empty passenger train in Mykolaiv, and a missile struck an administrative building at a railway station in Odesa (Reuters)
Separately, Russia’s transport ministry accused Ukraine of conducting a drone strike on a Russian liquefied natural gas carrier, named the Arctic Metagaz, which caught on fire in the Mediterranean yesterday (Reuters)
Potential Venue Change for Upcoming U.S.-Brokered Talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that U.S.-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine may take place in Turkey or Switzerland if the originally planned meeting in Abu Dhabi is unfeasible given widening war in the Middle East; Zelenskyy also noted that Western nations have not yet stated that the delivery of air defense missiles to Kyiv would be impacted by commitments to defense in the Middle East (AP)
Kyiv Says Settlements in Zaporizhzhia Retaken
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi announced that Ukrainian troops have retaken nine settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region since the end of January and are continuing to conduct counterattacks on the southeastern frontier (Reuters)
Separately, Russia’s Sheskharis oil terminal stopped oil loadings after a Ukrainian drone attack damaged twenty buildings, set fire to a fuel terminal, and injured five (Reuters)
Finally, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukraine will complete the technical requirements to start negotiations on its European Union (EU) accession process within days; though Ukraine became an EU candidate soon after Russia’s 2022 invasion, Hungary’s opposition has prevented the unanimous approval needed to open accession talks (Reuters)
North Sea Tanker Seizure
Belgian and French forces seized a tanker in the North Sea suspected of carrying sanctioned Russian oil, Belgium’s defense minister said (Belgium MoD)
In a social media post, French President Emmanuel Macron called the seizure a “major blow” to the Russian shadow fleet transporting sanctioned oil (President of France)
Ghanaians Killed in Ukraine
An estimated 272 Ghanaians have been recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine, and at least 55 have been killed, Ghana’s foreign minister said during a visit to Ukraine; he said the Ghanaian government would work to dismantle illegal recruitment schemes (AP)
U.S., Ukraine Hold Talks After Russian Missile and Drone Barrage
Ukrainian and U.S. officials met in Geneva to discuss post-war reconstruction and advance preparations for a potential trilateral settlement framework ahead of talks expected next month (Reuters)
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the meeting followed an overnight Russian barrage of 420 drones and 39 missiles, including 11 ballistic missiles, on infrastructure and residential areas across eight Ukrainian regions, injuring dozens of civilians (AP)
Russia’s War in Ukraine Enters Its Fifth Year
In a social media post today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised his country’s success in maintaining its independence and statehood amid the war, vowing “we will do everything to secure peace and justice” (Ukrainian President)
A Kremlin spokesperson said today that Russia is continuing its peacemaking efforts and argued that other countries’ interventions in the war had expanded the conflict into a broader confrontation with the West (Reuters)
Top EU officials are visiting Kyiv to show support for Ukraine, but no senior U.S. official is joining the delegation (FT)
The anniversary of Russia’s invasion comes amid slow-moving territorial shifts, stalled U.S.-backed peace talks, and a steady Russian aerial campaign on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure (WSJ)
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are convening a so-called Coalition of the Willing to support Ukraine, reflecting Europe’s increased support over the past year (UKG)
Yet the bloc is not fully unified—just yesterday, Hungary blocked a fresh slate of EU sanctions on Russia and a $106 billion loan for Ukraine (Politico)
Dispute Over Oil Flow Through Ukraine
Ahead of a European Union (EU) meeting today, Hungary threatened to block new sanctions on Russia and loan for Ukraine over a dispute regarding Russian oil (Euronews)
Last month, Ukraine said a Russian drone hit a Soviet-era pipeline, which halted the flow of Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia; the two countries, which rely on the pipeline, have accused Ukraine of slowwalking the restart (Guardian)
In response to Hungary’s threats to cut aid to Kyiv, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, “we should not tie together things that are not connected to each other” (EU EAS)
Meanwhile, a new assessment from the European Commission, the Ukrainian government, and the World Bank estimated it will cost around $588 billion over the next decade to rebuild Ukraine and enable its economic recovery (UN)
That’s around a 12 percent jump from last year’s estimate—reflecting new damage to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the last year (Reuters)
Over One Thousand Kenyans Fighting For Russia
A Kenyan intelligence report revealed that over one thousand Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine; the amount is five times more than initially estimated, and the Russian Embassy in Nairobi denied any illegal recruitment efforts (Reuters)
Separately, Sweden announced a $1.42 billion aid package for Ukraine, including short-range air defense equipment, ammunition, long-range missiles, and drones (Reuters)
Hungary to Halt Diesel Shipments to Ukraine
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced that Hungary is suspending diesel exports to Ukraine after attacks on the Druzhba pipeline disrupted Russian oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia beginning in late January; while Ukraine attributes the interruption to Russian strikes, Hungary and Slovakia have accused Kyiv of deliberately delaying the resumption of oil flows (Reuters)
Russia Confirms Starlink Outage
The Russian military has not been able to access Starlink internet terminals for two weeks, the country’s Deputy Defense Minister Aleksei Krivoruchko told state media (Reuters)
Elon Musk, owner of Starlink parent company SpaceX, has said the company had moved to curb Russia’s unauthorized use of its service (Reuters)
Report: Ukraine Recaptures Most of Territory Russia Seized in December
According to AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian forces last week recaptured almost as much territory as Russia seized in December; its analysts attributed that progress to Russia’s loss of Starlink access (France24)
A Kremlin spokesperson said Russia would press for territorial concessions and other unspecified demands in upcoming talks in Geneva (NYT)
U.S. Brokered-Talks Set for Geneva Next Week
Officials in Moscow and Kyiv announced that another round of U.S.-brokered talks is set to take place in Geneva next week (AP)
This comes as the Trump administration is allegedly increasing pressure for Ukraine to make concessions to Russia to end the war by early summer (Reuters)
Overnight Drone Strike Kills Three
An overnight Russian drone strike near Kharkiv struck a home, killing three people; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated the attack undermined diplomatic efforts (AP)
Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine would only hold elections after a ceasefire with Russia and security guarantees were in place (Guardian)
His comments followed a Financial Times report that Washington had urged Kyiv to hold a presidential election and a referendum on a peace deal with Russia by May 15 or risk losing proposed U.S. security guarantees (FT)
Russia Strikes Odesa Energy Infrastructure
Russian forces struck energy facilities in the Odesa region, leaving over 95,000 people without power (Reuters)
Separately, a Russian airstrike in Donetsk killed two and injured fourteen others (Reuters)
Russian Forces Pushing Forward Around Pokrovsk
Kyiv’s military reported that Russian forces are attempting to press forward around Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine by exploiting weakened air defense systems; the move comes as Moscow continues its attempts to capture the Donetsk region (Reuters)
Separately, the EU is considering fast-tracking certain membership protections for Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal, unnamed sources told Bloomberg; a European Commission spokesperson said Kyiv’s future accession to the EU is being discussed in peace talks (Bloomberg)
Russian Airstrike Kills One
A Russian airstrike on a residential area in the city of Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region killed one person and wounded two others; the airstrike comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the United States has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline for reaching a peace deal (AP)
Russian General Shot
Vladimir Alekseyev, a senior Russian general, was shot and wounded in Moscow today by an attacker who fled the scene, Russia’s Investigative Committee said (CNN)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blamed Ukraine for the attack; Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment (Reuters)
Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters the United States wants Russia and Ukraine to reach a peace agreement by June, adding that Washington would likely pressure both sides to do so (AP)
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian military intelligence report found that North Korean troops are providing skilled assistance to Russia’s war efforts; per the report, North Korea has increased its involvement by launching artillery, including multiple-launch rocket systems, from southern Russia (WSJ)
Takeaways From Ukraine Talks
Russia and Ukraine each agreed to release 157 prisoners of war during trilateral talks with the United States in Abu Dhabi this week, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff wrote on social media; Witkoff added that the United States and Russia had agreed to re-establish military-to-military contacts that had been frozen shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (SE Witkoff)
It marks their first prisoner swap in at least five months (Politico)
Second Round of Abu Dhabi Talks Begin
Ukraine and Russia concluded the first day of U.S-backed peace talks in Abu Dhabi; Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, described the talks as “productive” (Reuters)
Shortly after the negotiations began, a Russian shelling using cluster munitions in a crowded market in Druzhkivka killed at least seven and wounded fifteen (Al-Jazeera)