Dear Reader, if you find this email interesting, helpful or of value, please do consider forwarding it to your friends or colleagues and encouraging them to subscribe. Thank you.
Morning Headlines
Reuters: Russia has repeatedly launched drones and missiles on a flight path near the disused Chornobyl nuclear plant during attacks on Ukraine, elevating the risk of a major accident, Ukraine's top state prosecutor told Reuters.
The Kyiv Independent: Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted the Russian city of Syzran and the surrounding region overnight on April 22, Russian Telegram media channels reported.
ISW: The Kremlin continues its efforts to militarize Russian society and appoint loyal veterans to positions of authority ahead of Russia’s State Duma elections in September 2026.
LSM: On Tuesday, the Latvian government approved the Ministry of Defence’s proposal to reallocate 70 million euros for military aid to Ukraine.
More News
The Kyiv Independent: The European Union will have to return to the issue of using frozen Russian assets if Moscow fails to pay reparations to Ukraine, Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU’s economy commissioner, said on April 21.
Politico: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday that the bloc intends to cut funding to the Venice Biennale following a decision by the art exhibition to readmit Russian artists to its 2026 edition.
The Guardian: Major Russian companies have been conscripted into a “witch-hunt” against users trying to circumvent online controls, researchers have said, as the Kremlin continues trying to cut its citizens off from the global internet.
The Moscow Times: Russia has taken down two decades’ worth of judicial statistics from public access, removing data that had been widely used by journalists and rights groups to track prosecutions and broader legal trends.
The Kyiv Independent: Mariupol’s city council, operating in exile since Russia occupied the city in 2022, published on April 21 satellite images indicating the destruction of a mass burial site in the settlement of Mangush near Mariupol. The site was used to bury residents who died during the Russian siege of the city in 2022.
The Brussels Times: Belgium has pledged an additional €100 million to NATO’s PURL programme to help Ukraine purchase critical military equipment.
The Insider: WADA opens investigation into RUSADA chief Veronika Loginova. As The Insider recently showed, Loginova is the long-term romantic partner of an FSB colonel who has been tasked with defending Russian athletes from doping accusations in Swiss court.
United24 Media: Ukrainian cyber specialists have breached “Gonets,” a Russian low-orbit satellite communications system marketed as Moscow’s answer to Starlink, InformNapalm reported on April 21.
Dallas analyzed 719 participants of a major electronics exhibition in Moscow and uncovered a network supplying Western components to Russia – despite sanctions.
Reuters: Italy has summoned the Russian ambassador to protest against insults directed at Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by a pro-Kremlin Russian television host, Rome's foreign minister said on Tuesday.
Politico: Russia is deploying artificial intelligence to accelerate its cyberattacks on Europe, Dutch military intelligence warned Tuesday — and the threat is only expected to grow.
Reuters: Ukraine will resume pumping oil through the Druzhba pipeline on Wednesday, an industry source said, after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said repairs were complete and urged the EU to unblock a 90-billion-euro loan halted by an argument over the pipe.
The Sentry: Russia is expanding its military logistics network in West Africa, using the port of Conakry in Guinea as a key transit hub for equipment bound for Mali, an investigation by The Sentry has found.
Reuters: Russia's Tuapse oil refinery, which sells most of its products for export, halted operations following a Ukrainian drone attack on April 16. Also: Primary oil processing at Russia's Rosneft-operated Novokuibyshevsk refinery has been halted since April 18 after a Ukrainian drone attack.
Reuters: Russia was forced to reduce oil output in April due to Ukrainian drone attacks on ports and refineries, as well as a halt to crude supplies via the only remaining Russian oil pipeline to Europe.
Reuters: Ukrainian drones struck an oil-pumping and dispatch facility in Russia's Samara region overnight, an official from Ukraine's SBU security service said on Tuesday.
NV: Russia is improving its ability to control Shahed drones in real time from inside Russia using mesh networks, mobile networks and new targeting methods, Yurii Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, said on April 21.
Reuters: Ukraine's funding needs for 2026 are covered, a senior EU official said, with the EU likely to make the first disbursement from its 90 billion euro loan at the end of May or in early June and other donors keeping Kyiv funded until then.
United24 Media: Poland fines a company $5.5 million for intentionally violating sanctions by selling luxury cars to Russia.
worth mentioning
NATO criticises Russian and Chinese nuclear stances, urges cooperation with US
Europe should focus on own security as global threats mount, Dutch intelligence agency says
Trump's $1.5 trillion defense budget includes $750 billion for ships, jets and Golden Dome
Russa-Ukraine Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Do you think your friend or colleague should know about this newsletter? Forward it to them, please.They can also sign up here
Please consider supporting my work
