External environment improves for Russia – March trade surplus doubled to $16.8bn compared to average values in January-February; current account surplus rose to $13.4bn.
Neutral EU member states will be able to opt out of a plan to use profits from Russia’s central bank frozen assets to purchase weapons for Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it does not recognise Vladimir Putin as the democratically elected and legitimate president of Russia the day before he was due to be inaugurated for the fifth time.
Russia’s imports of Western technology have reached pre-war levels and the export control regime to stop the trade is full of holes. Tougher rules, enforcement and bigger fines are needed to curb the trade, according to a report by Bruegel.
The 2024 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), was released today. This year, the agency highlights a “worrying decline in support and respect for media autonomy and an increase in pressure from the state.
Russian oil export revenues surged to $17.2bn in March 2024, driven by higher global oil prices and increased crude export volumes, according to the April ‘Russian Oil Tracker’ by KSE Institute.
The long-delayed allocation of $61bn by the US Congress gives Ukraine yet another chance to negotiate peace with Russia without losing even more lives and territory, provided it succeeds in stalling the current Russian offensive.
Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries are causing a shortage of petrol on the domestic markets and have sent prices at the pump surging in the last few weeks.
Russia is producing weapons at a record pace, and Ukraine’s partners are trying to increase support. Over the past year, Russia has learned to develop new weapons and ammunition faster than at any time in its modern history.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte believe that Lithuania should help Ukraine get back its military-age men living abroad.
Ukraine has witnessed a surge in defence tech innovation initiatives. Defence Builder is a startup accelerator aimed at fostering collaboration between Ukraine’s military, business and startup community to develop technologies requested by the army.
Ukraine’s economy has proven to be resilient and is beginning to recover. But the weight of the war is still weighing heavily on the country and Russia’s intensified bombardment of recent months caused some analysts to lower their GDP forecasts.
Russia's Finance Ministry ran an extreme stress test on the economy for this year that assumes zero growth, a weakening ruble and falling oil and gas revenues in the worst-case scenario.
Ukraine needs at least seven Patriot air defence systems, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, urging allies “not to waste time,” in his daily broadcast on April 27, as Ukraine continues to get pummelled by Russian missiles.
Ukrainian forces are withdrawing U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks from the front lines after at least 5 have been destroyed by cheap Russian drones.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) lowered the key policy rate by 100bp to 13.5% on April 25 and improved its inflation forecast as price pressure ease.
After a long wait, the US aid package for Ukraine of almost $61bn got the last seal with President Biden's signature on April 24, 2024. The sizeable package focuses especially on military material aid.
In a sting blow for the Kremlin, the European Parliament ruled that Russia’s presidential election was illegitimate and blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin personally for the “murder” of opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
Poland is ready to help Ukraine bring conscription-age men home after Kyiv stepped up its mobilisation effort, a top government official said this week. But hundreds of thousands of people leaving Poland could be a huge problem for the economy.
Russia’s oil and gas revenues surged in the first three months of this year by 79%, but Reuters calculated they will double in April compared to the same month a year earlier, the newswire reported on April 24.