UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
🛢 Russia’s oil and gas revenues could rise by nearly 40% in May amid tensions surrounding Iran, Reuters reports.
According to the agency’s forecast, the Kremlin’s oil and gas revenues may reach about 700 billion rubles ($9.8 billion) this month — up 39% compared with the same period last year.
The increase is linked to a surge in global oil prices following the escalation around Iran.
At the same time, compared with April, Russia’s revenues could decline by around 17% due to tax payments and increased subsidies to oil refineries.
Despite the projected rise in May, Russia’s budget revenues from oil and gas are still down by about one-third over the first five months of the year.
Ukraine was discussed at the Beijing summit, but China’s peace plan was not, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
😡 A closed digital space controlled by the special services is being formed in Russia, Vadym Skibitsky said.
Speaking at the Kyiv StratCom Forum 2026, the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said that Russia had been systematically closing its information space even before the full-scale invasion.
According to him, current restrictions on access to global platforms are part of a long-term policy aimed at isolating society and shifting users to services controlled by the security services.
He noted that after Facebook and Instagram were blocked in 2022, restrictions later extended to YouTube, and now affect Telegram, WhatsApp, and TikTok.
“The stronger state censorship becomes and the more the special services control media resources, the more people are simply afraid to publish certain narratives and content, because they can be punished for it,” Skibitsky said.
📉 Russia’s Central Bank is selling off its gold reserves at the fastest pace in 25 years, Bloomberg reports.
Since the beginning of the year, the Central Bank of Russia has sold nearly 28 tons of gold worth about $4.3 billion. This is the largest reduction in the country’s gold reserves since 2002.
As of May 1, Russia’s reserves had declined to 2,298 tons — the lowest level since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Bloomberg notes that the Central Bank began reducing its gold reserves last year to help cover the budget deficit amid falling oil and gas revenues and to support the ruble.
Russia had previously been one of the world’s largest buyers of gold, purchasing nearly all domestic production.
Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery in Russia has halted operations following a Ukrainian strike on May 20, Reuters reports.
The plant is Russia’s fourth-largest refinery and the country’s second-largest gasoline producer, with a processing capacity of up to 16 million tons of oil per year, or about 320,000 barrels per day.
According to Reuters, the shutdown is expected to significantly reduce production and add uncertainty to the fuel sector.
During the overnight attack on May 20, Ukrainian drones reportedly damaged the refinery’s main CDU-6 primary processing unit.
Russian schoolchildren are being offered drone piloting training in exchange for extra points toward university admission, The Moscow Times reports.
The US Navy has deployed laser-equipped destroyers in the Arabian Sea southeast of Iran, The War Zone reports.
According to the publication, laser systems are installed both on ships carrying out combat missions in key regions and on vessels undergoing scheduled maintenance. In total, nine such destroyers are equipped with these systems.
Particular attention is being paid to areas with high drone activity. For example, USS Spruance and USS John Finn are currently operating near Iran. During the US-Israeli operation “Epic Fury” on February 28, 2026, USS Spruance reportedly used its ODIN system while launching Tomahawk cruise missiles. USS Gridley, operating in the Caribbean, is also equipped with a laser system, while the remaining ships are either in home ports or undergoing maintenance.
Most of the nine ships carry the ODIN system — a laser “blinder” designed to disrupt optical reconnaissance sensors and infrared guidance systems on strike drones.
So far, only USS Preble, based in Japan, is equipped with the more powerful HELIOS system (Mk 5 Mod 0), a 60-kW laser integrated into the Aegis combat system. It is capable not only of blinding sensors, but also of physically damaging small boats and shooting down drones. During tests, USS Preble reportedly neutralized four targets. The system’s power could eventually be increased to 150 kW.
The Pentagon has allocated significant funding for the development of such technologies in its 2027 defense budget. Priority projects include:
▫️ 150-kW containerized lasers for defense against cruise missiles
▫️ Development of high-power 300–500 kW systems under the JBCS program
▫️ Specialized lasers for intercepting anti-ship missiles under the HELCAP project
At the same time, The War Zone notes that laser weapons still face major limitations.
One of the main drawbacks is short range — lasers are effective only at distances of several miles, making them more of a last line of defense.
Their effectiveness is also highly dependent on weather conditions, as fog, rain, and cloud cover can significantly weaken the beam.
In addition, unlike missiles, lasers must maintain contact with a target for several seconds to inflict damage, which complicates their use against large-scale attacks.
The self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said he is open to talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and is ready to meet “at any point” for this.
Lukashenko also claimed that Belarus could allegedly be drawn into the war “only in one case” — if “aggression is committed” against its territory.
“We are not going to get involved in a war in Ukraine. There is no need for this — neither civilian nor military,” he said.
Ukrainian forces were able to retake about 400 square kilometers of territory during an offensive operation earlier this year after thousands of Starlink terminals used by Russian forces were deactivated.
$100 oil could become the new normal over the next year due to the US-Iran war, Bloomberg reports.
Most analysts and market participants surveyed by the agency expect Brent crude to average between $81 and $100 per barrel over the next 12 months.
The main risk for the market remains potential disruptions to supplies through the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict between the US and Iran. However, market participants do not currently expect a complete breakdown in supplies.
Experts also believe that a geopolitical “risk premium” could add another $5–15 per barrel to oil prices for years to come.
At the same time, rising prices could be partially offset by weaker demand, supply rerouting, and increased oil production.
Friedrich Merz’s proposal for Ukraine’s “associate membership” in the European Union has received mixed reactions, Euronews reports.
Ukraine’s Kung Fu team won the World Championship, claiming 178 medals.
Budanov received a vyshyvanka embroidered for him by children.
Alla Hordiienko, Director General of the National Library of Ukraine for Children, who personally presented the embroidered shirt to the head of the President's Office, said that the children had “coded the embroidery for victory and triumph.”