Diplomacy
The Foreign Ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and members of the European Parliament visited Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reportedly asked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to visit on May 9, when Russia celebrates Victory Day.
Sanctions
The EU will give Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic until 2024 to comply with the Russian oil import ban.
Consequences
Russia published a list of goods subject to “parallel imports,” allowing it to import products that otherwise wouldn’t be allowed by the manufacturer, including car parts, tech products, and other consumer goods.
The Department of Justice has been unraveling a complex web of shell companies and middlemen used by Russian oligarchs and elites, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Dubai Aerospace, the Middle East’s largest plane leasing firm, wrote off $538 million worth of aircraft stranded in Russia.
Ukraine Sitrep
President Joe Biden will announce a $100 million assistance package to Ukraine. The U.S. may have also supplied intelligence that helped Ukraine sink the Black Sea fleet’s flagship Moskva, while the Pentagon pushed back on reports it has been giving intel allowing Ukraine to target Russian generals. Ukraine may have struck another Russian ship in the Black Sea, though the Pentagon is not prepared to confirm.
An estimated 3.8 million people have left Russia in Q1 of this year. Workers have been spotted replacing Ukrainian road signs around Mariupol with Russian language road signs.
Moldova Sitrep
No news of note