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POLITICO: The Pentagon is defending its steady rollout of weapons to Ukraine even as officials in Kyiv say the assistance is coming too slowly — and it might already be too late to help turn the tide of the war in Ukraine’s favor.

Bloomberg: Republican House leadership is considering including a provision in a potential aid package for Ukraine that would require the Biden administration to approve some liquefied natural gas export projects (archive).

Reuters: Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries may have disrupted more than 15% of Russian capacity, a NATO official said on Thursday, adding that the alliance believed Moscow still lacked sufficient munitions and manpower to launch a successful offensive.

RFE/RL: A new investigation by Current Time, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, has obtained internal Russian military records that reveal previously undisclosed details about killings of Ukrainian civilians.

Reuters: As the threat of secondary sanctions deters Chinese banks from facilitating trade with Russia, companies are flocking to the one Russian bank with a Chinese branch and facing up to six months of delays.

The Kyiv Independent: Berlin will call on allies worldwide to examine their air defense capabilities and "to provide whatever we all can" to Ukraine, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said after a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting in Brussels on April 4.

Reuters: Russia is "very likely" behind a series of disturbances affecting GPS navigation in the Baltic region, the German Defence Ministry said on Thursday, pointing to the Kaliningrad exclave as a source of the problem.

Meduza: After a long hiatus as it diverted resources to the invasion of Ukraine, Wagner Group has resumed recruiting mercenaries to go to Mali, where it’s been linked to murders, rape, looting, and attacks on civilians.

The Moscow Times: Finland views Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries and military targets inside Russia as legally justified, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told The Moscow Times on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting.

Reuters: A Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicle that hit Russia's Tatarstan region this week was likely a modified Aeroprakt A-22 Ukrainian-made light aircraft, several experts said, offering insight into one of Kyiv's deepest drone strikes to date.

France 24: Russia's two-time Olympic wrestling champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev has been excluded from qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Games this week because of his support of the war in Ukraine, the sport's governing body said on Thursday.

Reuters: Finland will indefinitely extend the closure of land border crossings with Russia and add several ports to a list where travel from its eastern neighbour is prohibited, the government said on Thursday.

POLITICO: France and Russia are at loggerheads over the substance of a rare high-level call between France's Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. And the clashing readouts of Wednesday's hour-long conversation are swiftly becoming a diplomatic pain in the neck for Paris.

AFP: President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday condemned Russia's "threatening" tone following rare phone talks between the French and Russian defence ministers that only served to underline the gaping gulf between Moscow and Europe two years into the invasion of Ukraine.

Reuters: NATO alliance members agreed on Thursday to scour their arsenals for more air defence systems to protect Ukraine from Russian ballistic missile attacks, as the alliance marked a 75th anniversary overshadowed by the war on its borders.

The Kyiv Independent: Riga will soon supply Kyiv with drones worth 1 million euros within the framework of the drone coalition, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said on April 4. Latvia has also pledged 10 million euros to the Czech-led initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine.

Reuters: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that he had no doubt Russia would malevolently target the Paris Olympics this summer, in comments that underline the fraught geopolitical backdrop to the games.

POLITICO: Aides to President Joe Biden have been privately working behind the scenes to ensure House Speaker Mike Johnson can put a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine up for a vote — and survive it politically.

Reuters: The Czech Republic will donate tens of millions of euros to an initiative it is leading to buy hundreds of thousands of artillery ammunition rounds for Ukraine, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

Reuters: Russia's energy sector faces a wide range of problems as some oil firms are struggling in the face of Western sanctions to repair their refineries, built with the help of US and European engineering firms.

worth mentioning

Aiding Ukraine is a strategic investment, not charity

RBI considers sale of Russian subsidiary as best option for deconsolidation

CT’s Africa File: Russia explores Mali’s mineral wealth; Kremlin’s Red Sea ambitions in Eritrea

Putin vs. Putin: Polls suggest even loyalists desire change in Russia's leadership

Germany announces military overhaul with eye on cyber threats

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