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Morning Headlines
Reuters: The European Union will on Tuesday announce a roadmap to phase out the bloc's remaining gas ties with Moscow, but in the absence of sanctions it will be difficult for buyers to exit gas contracts using legal options such as force majeure.
The Kyiv Independent: The EU "would effectively double the volume of weapons Ukraine receives" by investing in domestic weapons production, EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said on May 4.
Reuters: Trump said on Sunday he and his advisers have had some good discussions about Russia and Ukraine in recent days, without elaborating.
04.05.2025
The Kyiv Independent: A Patriot air defense system based in Israel will be transferred to Ukraine after refurbishment, the New York Times reported on May 4, citing four unnamed current and former U.S. officials.
The Guardian: An ultranationalist who opposes military aid to Ukraine, has vilified the EU’s leaders, and calls himself Trump’s “natural ally” has won the first round of Romania’s rerun presidential vote and will face a centrist in the runoff.
Politico: A Russian hacker group attacked several Romanian government and presidential candidates’ websites on Sunday as the country votes for its next president, Romanian news outlet G4media reported.
The Kyiv Independent: The Czech ammunition initiative will deliver up to 1.8 million artillery shells to Ukraine by the end of 2025, Czech President Petr Pavel said on May 4.
Naval News: Ukraine has successfully shot down two Russian jets sent to interdict their surface drones in the Black Sea. Naval News reveals the previously unreported surface drone which scored the kills using American Sidewinder missiles.
Reuters: Ukrainian forces struck an electrical equipment factory in Russia's Bryansk region close to the border with Ukraine, destroying much of the plant but causing no casualties, the local governor said on Sunday.
The Kyiv Independent: Trump said in a wide-ranging interview with NBC News on May 4 that the U.S. may consider implementing additional sanctions against Russia if it does not reach a peace deal with Ukraine to end the war.
AP News: Chinese leader Xi Jinping will pay an official visit to Russia from May 7–10, the Kremlin confirmed Sunday. Xi was already among the leaders set to attend the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on May 9.
Reuters: A Russian overnight drone attack on Ukraine's capital injured at least 11 people, including two children.
03.05.2025
The Moscow Times: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed a three-day truce ordered by Putin as theatrics but said Kyiv was ready for a full ceasefire.
The Kyiv Independent: Russian forces used drones armed with thermobaric warheads in a mass attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv that injured at least 51 people, including two children, Ukraine’s regional prosecutors said on May 3.
Bloomberg: Ukraine wants to host a meeting of national security advisers from the US, UK, France and Germany at a yet-to-be-determined date to discuss further steps in the peace process, said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (archive).
The Kyiv Independent: Ukraine has captured two Togolese nationals who were fighting alongside Russian forces.
Reuters: Ukrainian armed forces will take part in a British military procession on Monday celebrating the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, which marks the end of fighting on the continent during World War Two.
The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of F-16 training and sustainment, along with related equipment, to Ukraine for $310 million, the Pentagon said on Friday.
ISW: Western intelligence reportedly suggests that Putin may begin prioritizing short-term goals over seizing more territory, but his commitment to maintaining the tempo of Russian offensive operations in Ukraine despite continuing high casualty rates is a counter-indicator to this assessment.
02.05.2025
Reuters: U.S. officials have finalized new economic sanctions against Russia, including banking and energy measures, to intensify pressure on Moscow to embrace Trump’s efforts to end the war on Ukraine.
The Korea Times: DN Solutions, Korea's leading machine tools manufacturer, has drawn criticism from the Ukrainian government for alleged negligence in preventing Chinese distributors from re-exporting its computer numerical control equipment to Russia for military use.
The Kyiv Independent: Russia was behind the February cyberattack on Azerbaijani media, Ramid Namazov, head of the Azerbaijani parliament's commission on countering hybrid threats, said on May 2.
Reuters: Ukraine's internal security agency, the SBU, on Friday accused Russian intelligence of orchestrating an attempt to assassinate a prominent Ukrainian blogger, accusing a 45-year-old woman of carrying out the failed hit.
Reuters: Ukraine's parliament will hold a vote on May 8 to ratify a minerals deal signed with the United States earlier this week, a lawmaker said on Friday, while the prime minister suggested the agreement will help Kyiv with supplies of air defence systems.
AFP: Authorities on Friday remanded in custody a Greek man suspected of photographing supply convoys on behalf of Russia in the Greek port city of Alexandroupolis, a judicial source said.
Reuters: Euroclear plans to seize and redistribute about 3 billion euros of Russia's funds that are frozen at the Belgian clearing firm after Moscow grabbed investor cash in Russia.
Reuters: Russia said on Friday its forces were continuing to create a "security strip" in border areas of Ukraine's Sumy region after driving Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region, just across the border in western Russia.
The Moscow Times: Russian schoolchildren who voice anti-war views are increasingly pressured, from teachers reporting them to the authorities and police interrogations to even being jailed.
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