UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
βοΈForeign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that, according to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia may soon launch massive attacks on Ukraine with a frequency of up to seven times a month.
At the same time, he noted that Ukrainian air defense is currently intercepting up to 90% of aerial targets during such attacks.
πΊπ¦πΈπͺThe King of Sweden has arrived in Ukraine.
Victory is now just a distant dream for Putin, who understands that his economy is in dire straits, NATO Secretary General Rutte said.
Ukraine has offered the Netherlands a format for a special security partnership agreement β the Drone Deal. This concerns not only drones, but also comprehensive protection of the sky, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The Netherlands will fully train the crew and transfer the ship to Ukraine in June. It will be named βHenicheskβ in honor of a Ukrainian vessel lost during a combat mission near the Kinburn Spit in June 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He made the statement after meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Yetten and Ukrainian service members training on an Alkmaar-class mine countermeasures ship in the Netherlands.
βThis is the fifth vessel in our future mine countermeasures fleet and the second provided by the Netherlands.
The German Defense Ministry has restricted the use of mobile phones at its headquarters amid concerns about espionage threats from Russia and China, Spiegel reports.
According to the directive, personal devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and smartwatches are prohibited from being brought into in-person or virtual meetings where materials classified as βSecret β For Official Use Onlyβ or higher are discussed.
Before such meetings, all personal devices must be left in lockers in the hallways. This rule also applies to offices where documents classified as βSecretβ or higher are stored.
Russia may seize a Baltic island to βtest NATOβs strength,β Swedenβs top military commander said.
Swedish Supreme Commander-in-Chief Michael Claesson called for increased vigilance in the North and the Baltic Sea, where exercises have often simulated amphibious landings on strategic islands, including Gotland.
According to him, the Baltic Sea region includes hundreds of thousands of islands, creating potential targets for such operations.
Claesson also stressed that after the war in Ukraine ends, Moscow may regroup its forces and prepare for new geopolitical expansion, similar to imperial or Soviet ambitions.
The Japanese government has approved easing arms export rules, effectively ending decades of strict postwar pacifism and opening its defense industry to the global market, Reuters reports.
With a military budget of $60 billion, Japan already produces high-tech systems β including submarines, ships, missiles, and fighter jets. Corporations such as Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric have begun large-scale hiring and expanding production, expecting defense sales to grow by more than 50% by 2031.
As part of the new policy, Tokyo plans to supply used frigates to the Philippines to counter China in the South China Sea, as well as launch joint projects with Poland in electronic warfare and counter-drone systems.
Ukraine is also expected to join this initiative. An industrial group is being created in Tokyo to combine the efforts of Japanese and Ukrainian UAV manufacturers.
Despite maintaining a ban on direct arms deliveries to active conflict zones, the development of supply chains in Asia independent of the United States positions Japan as a serious competitor to countries such as South Korea and Israel.
India resumes purchases of Russian LNG from U.S.-sanctioned plant for first time in a year β Reuters
An LNG tanker from Russiaβs Portovaya plant in the Baltic Sea, which is subject to U.S. sanctions, is heading to Indiaβs Dahej terminal, according to shipping company LSEG. If the delivery goes through, it would be the first such shipment to India since U.S. President Donald Trump last year said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to stop buying Russian energy. India has not publicly confirmed this, saying it is guided by price, security of supply and consumer interests.
President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine received the international Four Freedoms Award.
During the visit of the President of Ukraine to the Netherlands, he and the Ukrainian people were honored with the award for their contribution to the defense of freedom and democratic values.
The Four Freedoms Award is based on the four freedoms outlined by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his 1941 address to Congress: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
Hackers breached Grinex, the largest ruble-denominated crypto exchange used by Russia to evade sanctions, and stole 1 billion rubles (about 15 million USDT), according to Vazhnye Istorii.
βThe digital footprint and nature of the attack indicate an unprecedented level of resources and technology available exclusively to entities of hostile states,β the exchangeβs management said.
Grinex was founded in 2025 after the collapse of the Russian exchange Garantex. It has been used to launder money by Russian oligarchs, organized crime groups, and terrorist organizations.
For example, Hamas-linked cells reportedly received around $100 million through the platform ahead of the invasion of Israel.
One of Garantexβs founders, Stanislav Drugalev, fled to Dubai, where he died under unclear circumstances in 2021. After that, the exchangeβs management began cooperating with the FSB.
Grinex is formally registered in Kyrgyzstan, while its financial flows in Russia are handled by Exved, a nominally independent payment service operating via Telegram. It was founded by Sergei Mendeleev, a former Garantex architect and associate of Drugalev.
The platform trades the ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5, launched by Promsvyazbank, a key bank for Russiaβs Defense Ministry, and pro-Kremlin Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor.
By early 2026, A7A5 turnover had reached $100 billion. In August 2025, the United States imposed sanctions on Grinex, citing its use in procuring microchips and telecommunications equipment for Russiaβs war effort.
Between August and October 2025 alone, at least $6 billion was transferred through A7A5, bypassing sanctions.
πͺπΊThe EU reacted to the publication by the Russian Defense Ministry of a list of European companies producing drones for Ukraine.
European Commission spokeswoman Anita Hipper said the EU would not attach importance to Russian statements, but would focus on supporting Ukraine and strengthening its own defense.
π₯Defense forces struck a number of Russian occupiersβ facilities overnight, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
Ukrainian forces hit:
βͺοΈa command and observation post;
βͺοΈthree UAV control points;
βͺοΈa repair and maintenance base for weapons and military equipment;
βͺοΈa logistics hub;
βͺοΈa storage site for landing and assault boats;
βͺοΈthree ammunition depots;
βͺοΈwarehouses for materiel and fuel.
In addition, the destruction of a drone laboratory on April 9 was confirmed, along with strikes on the Podlyot radar station on April 15 and the Nebo-M radar station on April 16.