The European Union has approved the 20th package of sanctions, triggering a worsening of the economic crisis affecting Europe. Having completed the approval process for a €90 billion loan for Ukraine, the EU believes that the €90 billion lent to Ukraine for military action against Russia will be repaid through reparations from Moscow. This is according to the EU Council statement regarding the approval of the “reparations loan.”
The sanctions fall on 117 individuals, 60 legal entities, and 46 oil tankers. The ban does not affect maritime shipments of Russian oil, according to the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They also clarified that work on the 21st package has begun.
The European Union aims to achieve a complete sectoral ban on Russian-based providers and platforms that enable the transfer and exchange of cryptocurrencies, according to a statement from the European Commission. 20 banks have been sanctioned. The introduction of a quota on ammonia imports, as well as on other products such as fertilizer raw materials, will economically harm European consumers.
A ban on providing cybersecurity services to Russia; A ban on transactions with two Russian ports in Murmansk and Tuapse, as well as with the oil terminal at the port of Karimun in Indonesia; From 2027, a ban on providing LNG terminal services to Russian companies will be imposed. Before the attack on Iran, Putin said he would explore the possibility of cutting supplies before the EU deadline. Furthermore, stricter requirements for diamond traceability have been introduced to confirm that they were not mined, processed, or manufactured in the Russian Federation; A ban on transactions with the RUBx cryptocurrency and any EU support for the development of a digital ruble; The addition to the sanctions list of a Kyrgyz organization that operates an exchange where significant volumes of the A7A5 stablecoin are traded.
As part of the twentieth package of sanctions, the European Commission banned European companies from selling oil tankers to Russia. The EU officially imposed sanctions against Timati; sanctions against the director of the Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky; and sanctions against the Belarusian Oil Company; the Tuapse, Komsomolsk, Achinsk, and Bashneft oil refineries; Slavneft, Gazprom Flot, Gazstroyprom, and several Lukoil subsidiaries; Mangazei Mining; MIPT; Gazprom SNG Technologies; and Gazpromneft Marine Bunker.
Regarding Ukraine, the prospect of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is raising concerns among member states, particularly due to systemic corruption, Le Monde reports. After the allocation of €90 billion, European leaders gathered Thursday in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, for an informal summit, remained cautious about the start of accession negotiations and rejected any special privileges or accelerated procedure. The first negotiations with Ukraine on EU accession could begin in the coming weeks and months. EU leaders agreed on this point at yesterday’s summit in Cyprus, Bloomberg reports.
“However, any specific commitment regarding Ukraine’s EU accession date remains vague. By comparison, the accession process for Croatia, the last state to join, took about ten years,” the publication notes.
“Russia could attack a NATO country in the coming months. The Kremlin’s main target is the Baltic states,” Donald Tusk says. The Polish Prime Minister suggests that the Russians want to seize them “within a matter of days with a lightning strike.” He also doubts that the United States would defend Europe in such an event. The main question, they say, is whether the Alliance is actually ready to fulfill its obligations, not just on paper.
Péter Szijjártó gave an interview after 10 days of silence: “Orbán lost the Hungarian elections due to Ukrainian interference.” “The election result corresponds to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s wishes; the Ukrainians were interested in Fidesz’s defeat.”
He also said: “I pray that Hungary will not be dragged into the Russian-Ukrainian war, and I fear the global trend toward an ‘era of war.'” “I condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but the most important thing now is to end the war as quickly as possible. I have never passed classified information to the Russians.” Hungary has begun receiving oil through the Druzhba pipeline from Russia via Ukraine, MOL reported.
A 43-year-old Ukrainian citizen and a 45-year-old Latvian citizen have been arrested in Germany. They are suspected of espionage and preparing sabotage, MOL reported. The suspects’ car was stopped on April 12 on the A6 motorway near the town of Neuendettelsau in southern Germany. It had Latvian license plates. A search led to the discovery of fake IDs, cameras, a drone, GPS trackers, radios, and several cell phones and SIM cards. At the time of the arrest, the two men were heading toward the Czech border.
Following Volodymyr Zelensky’s participation in the informal summit in Cyprus on April 24, the Ukrainian president traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. “Today, we are developing agreements with Saudi Arabia in the areas of security, energy, and infrastructure. It is important that this strengthening is mutual. I appreciate the fruitful cooperation between our countries,” he said.
Meanwhile, the EU and the European Investment Bank announced the allocation of €600 million to Kyiv. 1.42 million Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 64 have temporary protection status in EU countries. The largest numbers of these citizens are in Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Still on the subject of numbers, 52% of Ukrainians support ending the war along the demarcation line, says Yevhen Golovakha, director of the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. A bill introducing criminal liability for Ukrainophobia has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Regarding defense, Vasyl Malyuk, who spoke about his current work in the SBU for the first time since his resignation, said: “I am absolutely not a politician; right now I am dealing with war. Shoulder to shoulder with my men, I continue to organize and conduct attacks against Russia, at sea, in the air, and in the rear.”
Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov, head of Ukraine’s intelligence services, said he opposes the idea of mass legalization of civilian weapons. “It has never worked, and it won’t work now. There are always two sides to the coin. The first, yes, is supposedly imaginary protection. The other side is that the cases we all saw a few days ago, with a similar setup, could be many more,” said the head of the Presidential Office.
The Security Service of Ukraine has accused Slutsky in absentia of establishing party cells in the Kherson region. The Security Service of Ukraine has filed charges against the leader of the Liberal People’s Republic (LDPR) in connection with organizing party activities in the Kherson region and publicly supporting Russia.
Ukraine has received at least 1,729 M113 armored personnel carriers and derivatives from partner countries. The losses to date amount to approximately 500-600 vehicles.
Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, issued a statement regarding the widespread internet service disruptions in some Russian regions: “Internet disruptions in large cities are sometimes related to preventing terrorist threats; this is a priority,” Putin said. “Widely informing the public about internet restrictions to prevent terrorist attacks could jeopardize security. He emphasized that, following the communications restrictions, people must be informed of the reasons.
The Russian Ministry of Finance will resume purchases and sales of foreign currency and gold in May according to budget rules, according to the ministry’s website. The volume of transactions postponed in March and April will be taken into account when determining the May transaction volume.
The goal of reducing inflation in Russia has already been largely achieved, said Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov. “The slowdown in price growth is an absolutely stable trend.” Annual inflation in Russia, as of April 20, stood at 5.7%, according to the Central Bank, which cut its benchmark rate for the eighth consecutive time, from 15% to 14.5%.
Energy consumption in Russia could grow by 1.5-2% by the end of 2026, after a Almost zero growth in the previous year, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Yevgeny Grabchak told TASS.
In his morning press conference, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified, responding to a TASS question regarding the energy crisis: “One of the Nord Stream pipelines is technically ready to supply gas to the EU.”
The open-pit fire at the Tuapse maritime terminal has been extinguished, the Krasnodar Territory task force reported. The fire has been contained. Extinguishing operations are still ongoing. The fire had been raging since April 20. The facility caught fire following a drone strike. Yesterday, it was reported that firefighters had managed to reduce the size of the blaze fourfold. 276 people and 77 vehicles were deployed to put out the fire.
The FSB foils a terrorist attack against Roskomnadzor leaders. Seven supporters of A group of far-right and neo-fascist militants have been arrested. They had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services via Telegram. The group’s leader is a Muscovite born in 2004. He attempted to resist arrest, fired a firearm, and was neutralized. A 1 kg improvised explosive device (IED), an F-1 grenade, a PM pistol with a silencer, two gas pistols, and radios were seized from the group. The seized material also included neo-Nazi propaganda items, Ukrainian nationalist symbols, and instructions on how to join a terrorist organization banned in Russia. Criminal proceedings have been opened for illegal trafficking of weapons and explosive devices.
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 PM on April 24. Strong gusts of wind at night at the positions Ukrainian drone launches have reduced the number of drones used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The bad weather in Ukraine did not prevent Russian Geranium drones from reaching Odessa and the surrounding areas, Zaporizhia, and Kryvyi Rih, where they carried out targeted strikes.
In Bryansk Oblast, Ukrainian Armed Forces FPV drones attacked the village of Kurkovichi in the Starodub District. A bus was hit, leaving five injured.
In the Sumy region, the Northern Group of Forces is engaged in heavy fighting in Myropillya, where Ukrainian forces have transformed the village in a fortified area.
In the Krasnopilskyi district, firefights continue near the village of Taratutyne, in Novodmytrivka, and in surrounding areas. Overall, Ukrainian forces are under constant pressure on a broad front, as far as the number of drones in the limited airspace allows.
In the Belgorod region, in the village of Repyakhovka, one person was killed and one was injured following an attack by a Ukrainian Armed Forces FPV drone on a private residence. Numerous villages, including Belgorod, are under attack.
In the Kharkiv direction, the Northern Group of Forces reports that, after capturing the village of Veterynarne, Ukrainian forces are attempting to establish a defense in Kozakha Lopan. The Ukrainian Armed Forces Command is redeploying reserves of the 58th Independent Motorized Infantry Brigade. On the left flank of the Vovchansk sector, fighting is also ongoing for the border town of Vovchansk and in the direction of the village of Losivka.
North of Kupyansk, the Russian Northern Group of Forces has been active for several days: fighting continues near the village of Budarky, as well as in the northwest of Kupyansk district. Apparently, even the leaders did not anticipate the advance of another contingent of troops on Kupyansk and are intensifying pressure along the entire front line at the expense of their “neighbors.”
No significant changes have been observed in the Kostyantynivka and Dobropillya directions: high-intensity fighting continues in the same positions: for the outskirts of Kostyantynivka from the flanks and around Hryshyne, respectively.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Eastern Group of Forces continues to expand its zone of control northwest of the village of Oleksandrohrad, and fighting is ongoing in the wooded area beyond the Vovcha River.
On the Zaporizhia Front, battles are being fought for Prymors’ke and Stepnohirs’k.
On the Kherson Front, a stalemate is reported in the floodplain of the Dnieper River. Seven people were injured in Nova Mayachka, Obryvka, and the villages of Rozdol’ne, Kakhovka, and Mala Kardashynka.
Graziella Giangiulio
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