Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement came as Strong Shield 5 exercises involving military personnel from other NATO countries began in Lithuania.
"Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to implement the provisions on funding the U.S.-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund," lawmaker Roksolana Pidlasa said.
During reconnaissance in an unspecified front-line sector, Special Operations Forces' operators detected Buk-M3 and Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.
The suspect quit his job at the Rivne NPP before the full-scale war began. In the spring of 2025, a GRU liaison contacted him and offered cooperation in exchange for money.
President Volodymyr Zelensky would not meet any other Russian official apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this week, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on the Breakfast Show program on May 13.
U.S. and European officials held talks on May 12, during which Washington made it clear that it wanted to allow talks between Russia and Ukraine before increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, sources told Bloomberg.
According to Steve Witkoff, the key topics in the peace discussions are the fate of the five partially or fully occupied Ukrainian regions, the status of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukraine's access to the Dnipro River and the Black Sea.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and guided bombs during the night, targeting multiple regions after the May 12 deadline for an unconditional ceasefire expired.
"Only member states can take out loans within the 150 billion euros instrument, but they can use these funds for joint procurement with Ukraine," EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas participates in a news conference on the IMF release of the World Economic Outlook Update, at IMF headquarters in Washington, DC, on July 25, 2023. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) anticipates that the Russian economy will expand much more rapidly than last year as Vladimir Putin's military spending bolsters wider growth, the Financial Times reported on Jan. 30.
Russia's GDP is expected to rise by 2.6% this year, more than doubling the pace IMF predicted back in October, and slightly slower than the 3% expansion expected in 2023. The 1.5% increase is the largest for any other country listed in the IMF's World Economic Outlook published on Jan. 30.
These predictions raise new questions about the effectiveness of Western sanctions in undermining Russia's economic revenues and financing of the war in Ukraine. Sanctions against Moscow encompass a broad array of economic areas, including restrictions on trade, finance, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport, and luxury goods.
Back in November, the U.K. Defense Ministry suggested that Russia's economy was "at risk of overheating" due to increased military spending, shortages in the labor market, and growing inflation. Contrary to expectations, recent data suggests Russia's economy continues to grow, fueled by increased spending on defense and the military.
“It is definitely the case that the Russian economy has been doing better than we were expecting and many others were expecting,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s chief economist, told journalists at the Financial Times.
Putin said earlier this month that GDP growth in 2024 could rise above the 3.5% cited by Russian economists in 2023. He also claimed that growth in 2023 was based mostly on domestic consumer and investment demand, including record spending on construction, agriculture, tourism, and freight transport.
According to Gourinchas, Russia's growth can be attributed to increased government spending in the "war economy." Firm commodity prices are helping to sustain fossil fuel-related export revenues and are an important contributor to overall economic activity. In the long term, however, the potential growth of Russia's economy is likely to be lower than before the full-scale invasion.
Rachel Amran is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked on the Europe and Central Asia team of Human Rights Watch investigating war crimes in Ukraine. Rachel holds a master's degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Regional Studies from Columbia University.
Anne O. Krueger
