Ukraine May Receive Another Patriot Air Defense System by Summer
European Union Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius, stated that the EU has the opportunity to significantly strengthen its military support for Ukraine by purchasing weapons directly from Ukrainian manufacturers. "If Trump doesn't convince Putin to make peace, we could quickly make more convincing arguments for peace by significantly increasing our military support for Ukraine… The real cost of our support will rise to 80 billion euros," Kubilius said.
Under the "Czech Ammunition Initiative," Ukraine may receive 1.8 million artillery rounds this year.
Czech President Petr Pavel announced that his country is already working on organizing artillery shell deliveries to Ukraine for the year 2026.
Ukraine and the Czech Republic plan to open an F-16 training school as part of the aviation coalition.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala reported that his country will train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 and F-39 fighter jets on its territory within the Coalition of Willing. Additionally, Fiala mentioned that the Czech Republic has employed 160,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Czech President Petr Pavel believes that short-term "ceasefires" for alleged cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, as proposed by Putin, make no sense. "As for the end of the war – Putin holds all the cards. He just needs to make a decision, but so far, he has not shown any willingness," the Czech president emphasized.
Ukraine and the Czech Republic have signed a joint declaration to establish a Center for Ukraine's Unity in the Czech Republic.
Spanish company Escribano Mechanical and Engineering is considering the possibility of producing defense equipment in Ukraine.
The European Parliament will address the issue of establishing a lasting and fair peace in Ukraine and the return of children illegally deported by Russia from temporarily occupied territories during its plenary session on May 5–8.
On May 8, the European Parliament will vote on a preferential export regime for steel and iron from Ukraine.
Russia
U.S. President Donald Trump does not rule out the possibility of signing a bill from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to strengthen sanctions against Russia. "It depends on whether Russia acts towards peace," Trump noted.
The European Commission will present a plan to Strasbourg on May 6 to reduce the EU's dependency on Russian energy sources, announced its spokesperson Stefan de Kersmaeker. The European Union plans to completely eliminate Russian gas imports by 2027. The ban will affect both long-term contracts and spot contracts, which account for about a third of Russian gas imports.
Belgian depository Euroclear has begun the process of withdrawing about 3 billion euros from frozen Russian accounts. The funds will be distributed among Western legal and physical entities whose assets were confiscated in Russia in 2024. This is aimed at compensating Western investors whose investments were affected by sanctions.
The Conservative opposition party "Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats" proposes creating a defense line at the border with Russia and Belarus named after Vytautas the Great, which would be protected by anti-personnel mines, anti-tank trenches, mobile armored groups, and long-range artillery. The estimated cost of the project is one billion euros.
A clergyman from the Ivanovo-Voznesensk Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hieromonk Makary, stated that it is acceptable to bless ballistic missiles if they benefit people.
The Ministry of Defense of Russia has revised the penalty size for medical university and college graduates who refuse to work in government institutions. According to the new version of the bill, the fine will be three times the actual costs incurred by the state to educate a budget student. On average, this is nearly 3.7 million rubles, excluding specific university rates.
New passenger and light commercial vehicle sales in Russia fell by 24.7% year-on-year in April 2025, totaling 111,157 units. From January to April 2025, the total number of vehicles sold in Russia was 27% lower than in the same period of 2024. Specifically, sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles dropped by 25.5%, and LCV sales by 15.7%. Truck sales dropped by 49%, and bus sales by 54%.
Public Joint Stock Company "Yuzhuralzoloto Group of Companies" reported a 24% decrease in revenue for Q1 2025, totaling 5.2 billion rubles.
Shareholders of "Seligdar," one of the top 10 largest gold mining companies in Russia, decided not to pay final dividends for 2024.
Russian authorities have acknowledged a personnel shortage in police patrol and post service in the Rostov and Krasnodar regions – over 40%, and in the Perm region – 50%.
In the Vologda region, a second monument to Stalin has been erected.
In January–March 2025, Belarus' exports amounted to $9.2 billion, while imports totaled $10.8 billion. As a result, the negative balance exceeded $1.6 billion.
By the end of 2024, Belarusian cement producers remained unprofitable. "Belarus Cement Factory" reported an increase in net loss from 34.4 million to 43.3 million rubles, while "Krichev Cement Factory" net loss increased from 120.7 million to 134.5 million rubles, and "Krasnoselskstroymaterialy" net loss increased from 54.8 million to 29.9 million rubles.
Banks and some other organizations in Belarus are now required to submit data on Belarusian citizens' expenditures at foreign online stores to tax authorities starting from May 1.
