Exclusives
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A 26-year-old Russian flew into Argentina to break Milei. He's not flying out. Dmitry Novikov ran Russia's biggest 2024 Latin American influence operation—targeting Milei for backing Ukraine. Argentina caught him in Lanús. |
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Why won't most Ukrainian women refugees come back? The war is no longer the main reason. Ahead of the EAUW leadership forum at the European Parliament, Violetta Dvornikova on what would bring 5.9 million Ukrainians home. |
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Ukraine's diaspora question lands at the European Parliament on Monday. "Power. Voice. Legacy" takes place 11–12 May in Brussels, with around 100 participants debating what comes after EU protection for Ukrainian refugees ends. |
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Why Ukraine's EU membership is stuck—and it's not just Zelenskyy. The EU can't agree on what to offer. Ukraine can't pass the laws to earn it. And the EU's own accession rules were built for a world that no longer exists. |
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Russia is waging a long war against the West. Switzerland's spies say it is escalating.. Switzerland's annual intelligence report names Russia the biggest threat to Europe, lining up with Dutch, German, Danish, and Estonian assessments of Moscow's preparation for a possible NATO conflict. |
Military
Ukraine proposes "Brave Sweden" to Stockholm and moves toward finalizing Gripen contracts. Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov traveled to Sweden for a packed round of meetings.
Ukraine's air defense intercepted nearly 6,000 Russian aerial targets in April — at 90% effectiveness rate. Some 5,861 were destroyed before reaching their targets.
Russian "Karakurt" missile corvette just got hit at its Caspian Sea base — days after another one was struck in Baltic. These are the ships Russia uses to fire at Ukrainian civilian infrastructure from hundreds of kilometers away.
Ukrainian drones target Russia's main army logistics hub—days before Putin's Victory parade. Russian monitoring channels say drones reached the 200-hectare Nara complex—the Defense Ministry's hub for distributing military cargo to the Russian armed forces.
After refusing Ukraine's ceasefire, Russia is now signaling strikes on Presidential Office, Parliament, and embassies in Kyiv on 9 May. Meanwhile, EU refuses to pull diplomats from Kyiv.
Intelligence and technology
75-hectare forest fire in Ukrainian region bordering four European countries is being investigated as possible Russian arson. No open flame remains, but smoldering hotspots persist in the forest floor and dry vegetation.
US lifts its 1997 ban on importing Ukrainian weapons — Russia remains only country on list. The old rule was a Cold War relic — paragraph 447.52(b) bundled Ukraine together with a list of former Soviet republics under blanket import restrictions.
International
"We know Russians, and these are means they use": Germany won't evacuate its Kyiv embassy ahead on Russia's Victory Day. Russia is trying to empty Kyiv's diplomatic quarter before its parade. Germany is staying.
"He was just shocked": Russia's UN ambassador walked out of diplomatic event after seeing Lviv craft beer. At an informal diplomatic beer tasting for UN permanent representatives in New York, Ukraine presented a selection of craft beers from Lviv's Pravda brewery.
Luxembourg MEP is recruiting European Parliament colleagues for June trip to Russia — and meetings with State Duma. The invitation letter proposes participation in meetings with Duma members on 3 June, on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
France issued 23% more visas to Russians as EU rules tightened. EU governments approved 620,000 Schengen visas in 2025, 10% more than 2024 — even as Brussels promised tighter rules over sabotage and espionage.
Humanitarian and social impact
Drone-and-mine siege: Ukraine takes Oleshky crisis to UN as 2,000 civilians starve in occupied city. Russia rejects humanitarian corridor as Ombudsman pursues longer route.
Five Ukrainians on board MV Hondius — the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak, MFA says. Five Ukrainian crew members are on board MV Hondius, the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship now sailing to Spain's Canary Islands, the MFA says.
Political and legal developments
Moscow's airports experience largest aviation disruption of 2026 after Russia breaks ceasefire with Ukraine. Passengers are sleeping on terminal floors. The chaos has now stretched into a third consecutive day.
Latvian police debunk fake claim that Ukrainian drone hit passenger train. Latvia's State Police debunked online claims that a Ukrainian drone hit a passenger train, saying a 5 May fire on the Rīga–Daugavpils line was likely engine damage.
Read our earlier daily review here.
